National oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviour survey of Israeli 12-year-olds, 2002.

OBJECTIVE

To gather epidemiological information on oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of Israeli 12-year-olds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A stratified, cluster, random and convenience sample of 12-year-old children was drawn. Stratification was by size of community, by administrative areas (regions) and by ethnicity (Jewish/other). The representative sample of 12-year-olds was asked to self-complete the questionnaire of ICS II, which was translated into Hebrew. The questions gather information regarding knowledge, attitude and dental health behaviour.

RESULTS

1294 children completed the questionnaire, of which 84% reported brushing their teeth once or more per day. Girls brushed 1.68 times more frequently than boys. Of the children, 64% had visited a dentist in the last year. The vast majority of the children (90%) expressed satisfaction with their last visit.

CONCLUSIONS

Oral health habits of 12-year-old Israeli children are comparable to those of other countries. The dental health education in Israel should focus health messages to different schoolchildren according to the differences found in this survey.