Importance of Oral Health among Adolescents in Public Schools of Campina Grande/PB, Brazil

Objective: To evaluate the importance of oral health for adolescents in public schools in Campina Grande, PB, Brazil, and the influence of gender in this context. Method: The study was a cross-sectional probability sample of 679 adolescents. Data collection was performed using self-administered questionnaire, previously validated, containing four questions about the degree of importance of body regions during hygiene, degree of importance of the teeth, their knowledge of oral disease, perceived oral health and the desire to receive instructions on how to have a healthier mouth. The gender analysis was performed by chi-square and Fisher exact (5% significance). Results: For those parts of the body with greater emphasis on hygiene, the females showed a significant difference in the following variables: facial skin (p=0.022) and hair (p less than 0.001). In analyzing the significance of teeth for life, the beauty was more important for females (p=0.019) and sexuality for males (p=0.034). Dental caries was best known for the male gender (p=0.027). Oral health was considered "good" by most respondents, with no difference between groups (p=0.188) and females showed greater interest in receiving guidance on how to have a healthy mouth (p=0.001). Conclusion: There is a priority for the aesthetics, lack of knowledge about oral diseases, satisfaction with oral health status and interest in information on dental health, with significant differences between genders on most issues.