INTRODUCTION Oral Health is an integral part of General Health and well- being and is a fundamental human right without distinction of race, religion and political belief, economic and social condition. Health can be determined by various factors like life style, Dietary habits, socio-economic conditions, occupational environment and the quality of life is reduced [1,2]due to loss of teeth and intraoral diseases . The goal of WHO is that, Oral Health as one among the Healthy life. So WHO has selected the theme “Oral Health” for Healthy life (2013-14 [3]. In Chennai, survey about the oral health status of 5 years school going children reported that decayed missing lled teeth (DMFT) of boys was 3.53 ± 3.07, girls was 3.49 ± 2.83 and in a 12 years the DMFT for boys was 3.80 ± 3.43, girls was 4.11 [4,5]± 2.98 . A study by Moallemi et al in 2008 showed that mother's oral health knowledge and attitudes are positively [6]related to their children's sound dentition . The result of National survey in Brazil, conducted in 2003, showed a signicant drop in caries prevalence in 12 year olds from 8.3 to 2.8. DMFT index (1991) in French children at the age of 12 was [8,7]2.59 in a similar survey The oral health problems that are . currently most prevalent dental caries, periodontal diseases, and dental traumas can be prevented by measures aimed at [9,10]reducing exposure to risk factors . Schools serve as a valuable platform for promoting oral health among school going children. Hence the current study was planned to provide the baseline data regarding Oral Health status and the factor effecting it with the aim of knowing their awareness level regarding Oral Health. MATERIALS AND METHODS After obtaining the Ethical clearance from ethical committee of the institution, list of schools containing required age groups of children had been obtained as per division of district by Panchayat Halquas/Tehsil and the written consent for the survey will be taken from the school authorities. The Study work was carried out in 8-14 years old school going Children in Shopian District, Jammu and Kashmir and Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh. Self structured questionnaire used by [5]Al-Omiri MK, Al-Wahadni, Saeed KN . The questionnaire includes questions without names and is used to evaluate oral health status, knowledge, attitudes and practice. All questionnaires were completed under the supervision of survey staff and subjected for statistical analysis using SPSS statistical software 21.0 Chicago Inc. Questionnaire Q1. What do you use for cleaning your teeth? 1. Toothbrush + toothpaste. 2. Dental oss. 3. Mouthwash. 4. Toothpicks. 5. Finger Q2. What type of tooth brushing methods do you employ? 1. Vertical 2. Horizontal 3. Combined Q3. How often do you brush your teeth? 1. O nce per day. 2. Twice per day. 3. More than twice per day. Q4. For how long do you brush your teeth? 1. Less than one minute. 2. One minute. 3. Two minutes. 4. More than two minutes. Q5. My parents… 1. Watch me while brushing my teeth. 2. Do not watch but advise me. 3. Never cared. 4. Only my mother watches me. Q6. Do you experience gum bleeding while brushing your teeth? 1. Yes 2. Sometimes 3. Never Q7. How often do you visit your dentist? 1. Regularly every 6-12 months. 2. Occasionally. 3. During dental pain. COMPARISION OF ORAL HEALTH ATTITUDE, KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE AMONG 8-14 YEARS OLD, SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN IN SHOPIAN, JAMMU & KASHMIR AND MEERUT, UTTAR PRADESH. A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY. Original Research Paper Dr Shakir Hussain Rather* Department of Pedodontic and Preventive Dentistry KDC, Meerut. *Corresponding Author X 43GJRA - GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS Dental Science Aim: To Assess the Oral health Attitude, Knowledge and Practice among 8-14 years old, School Going children in Shopian, Jammu & Kashmir and Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: The subjects for this study were randomly selected from ve private and ve government schools in the age group of 8-14 years. A total of 1000 children were selected both males and females through Cluster sampling, with age group of 8 to 14 years Government and Private school going children both male and female had been selected. Self structured questionnaire used by Al-Omiri MK, Al-Wahadni, Saeed KN. The questionnaire includes questions without names and is used to evaluate oral health status, knowledge, attitudes and practice among school going children. Results: Overall the level of knowledge score was statistically signicant with P = 0.001. Conclusion: The overall level of oral health knowledge among the surveyed children was low. ABSTRACT KEYWORDS : VOLUME-9, ISSUE-2, FEBRUARY-2020 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.36106/gjra Dr Shabir Raq Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, DJ dental College , Modinagar. Dr Abhaya Agarwal Department of Pedodontic and Preventive Dentistry KDC, Meerut. Dr Umer Farooq IDS Dental College, Jammu 44 X GJRA - GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS 4. Never visited a dentist. Q8. The reason for your last visit to the dentist was: 1. Dental pain. 2. Family & friend advice. 3. A dentist advised me. 4. Another reason (specify)…….. RESULTS A total of 1000 children in the age group 8-14 years were randomly selected, Of these 590 were males (59%) and 410 were females (41%). The schools were categorized as low and high socio-economic school groups based on the government and private schools, of which 500 children were studying in government schools and 500 children were studying in private schools respectively. VOLUME-9, ISSUE-2, FEBRUARY-2020 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.36106/gjra 1.What do you use for cleaning your teeth? 2.What type of tooth brushing methods do you employ? Toothbrush + toothpaste / Vertical method Dental Floss / Horizontal method Mouthwash / Combined method Toothpick Finger Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 441 10 2 45 2 103.12 0.001 (Signicant)88.2% 2.0% 0.4% 9.0% .4% Meerut Gp 264 95 67 37 37 52.9% 19.0% 13.2% 7.4% 7.5% 3.How often do you brush your teeth? Morning / Once per day Afternoon / Twice per day Other times / More than twice Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 244 179 77 32.33 0.001 (Signicant)48.8% 35.8% 15.4% Meerut Gp 168 194 138 33.5% 38.9% 27.6% 4.For how long do you brush your teeth? Less than one minute. One minute. Two minutes More than two minutes Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 230 112 111 47 16.893 0.001 (Signicant)46.0% 22.4% 22.2% 9.4% Meerut Gp 191 160 120 29 38.1% 32.1% 24.0% 5.8% 5.Parental Supervision during Brushing? Watch me while brushing my teeth . Do not watch but advise me Never Care Only My Mother watches me Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 268 158 45 29 39.994 0.001 (Signicant)53.6% 31.6% 9.0% 5.8% Meerut Gp 190 186 103 21 37.9% 37.3% 20.6% 4.2% 6.Do you experience gum bleeding while brushing your teeth Yes Sometimes Never Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 05 57 438 132.641 0.001 (Signicant)1.0% 11.4% 87.6% Meerut Gp 192 212 96 38.3% 42.5% 19.2% 7.How often do you visit your dentist? Regularly every 6-12 months Occasionally. During dental pain Never visited a dentist. Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 98 318 67 17 184.61 0.001 (Signicant)19.6% 63.6% 13.4% 3.4% Meerut Gp 138 124 138 100 27.7% 24.8% 23.0% 24.5% 8.The reason for your last visit to the dentist was: Dental pain. Family & friend advice Dentist Advised me Another reason Chi Square Value P value Shopian Gp 325 97 44 34 115.41 0.001 (Signicant)65.0% 19.4% 8.8% 6.8% Meerut Gp 164 134 101 101 32.7% 26.9% 20.2% 20.2% DISCUSSION The present study intended to provide information regarding the children aged 8-14 years old in Shopian district, J&K and Meerut district, UP. In the present study regarding the oral health of children, 88.2% in Shopian, J&K and 52.9% of the children in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh used to clean their teeth by using tooth brush and tooth paste followed by dental oss and mouthwash. Whereas similar results were reported by WHO (83%) and Puntha and Sivaprakasam (62.9%), in a rural population in Uttaranchal state and Kanchipuram district [11],[12]respectively . This results is not in accordance with that of the study by Mahesh Kumar et al in Chennai, where in his study sample some of the children resorted to the use of charcoal as a medium to brush their teeth than the tooth brush [13]. 0% in Shopian, J&K and 7.4% of the children in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh of the children used toothpick to clean their teeth and it was seen 5% used wooden sticks and toothpicks to clean their teeth as the study done in 2016 by Bashir R et al in [14]Pakistan . While 0.4% in Shopian, J&K and 7.5% of the participants in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh used ngers to clean their teeth. In case of method of brushing it was seen that 43.4% in Shopian, J&K and 30.3% of the children in Meerut, X 45GJRA - GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS VOLUME-9, ISSUE-2, FEBRUARY-2020 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.36106/gjra Uttar Pradesh used Vertical method to brush their teeth and 35.4% in Shopian, J&K and 41.1% of the participants followed Horizontal method of tooth brushing. 21.2% in Shopian, J&K and 28.6% of the children's in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh followed combined method to clean their teeth while brushing. In this study 48.8% of the participants in Shopian, J&K and 38.9% in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh performed the recommended practice of brushing their teeth once a day. It was reported by Harikiran AG et al in 2008 and Al-Omiri et al that 38.5% brushed their [14,15]teeth two or more times a day . In the present study 35.8% in Shopian, J&K and 38.9% of the children in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh performed the recommended practice of brushing their teeth twice a day. This is similar to that observed in some [16, 17, 18]industrialized countries of East Europe but low when compared to Western industrialized countries. Prasad et al reported 66.9% children brush once and 30.7% brush twice [19]daily in Tamil Nadu, India . About 46.0% of the subjects in Shopian district J&K and 38.1% in Meerut district U.P used to brush for less than one minute, while 22.4% children's in Shopian district J&K and 32.1% in Meerut district U.P used to brush one minute. In this study it was seen that 22.2% children's in Shopian district J&K and 24.0% in Meerut district U.P used to brush two minutes and 9.4% children's in Shopian district J&K and 5.8% in Meerut district U.P used to brush more than two minutes. In 2016 Bashir R et al done a study in which 34% of the participants used to brush 2 minutes and 11.7% brushed for even less than a minute which was similar to the [20]present study . In the present study it was reported that 68.6% of the children in Shopian district J&K and 40.7% in Meerut district U.P used to brush their teeth in morning which was less (81.6%) as compared to the study done by Bashir R et al in 2016 Karachi, Pakistan. 14.0% children in Shopian district J&K and 27.5% in Meerut district U.P used to brush their teeth in afternoon. While 11.4% in Shopian district J&K and 22.0% in Meerut district U.P preferred to brush before going to bed and 6% children in Shopian district J&K and 9.8% in Meerut district U.P used to brush other times. The parental supervision during brushing was found 53.6% in Shopian, J&K and 37.9% in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. In the present study about 19.4% in Shopian, J&K and 26.9% in Meerut, UP of the children visit a dentist due to family advice while 8.8% in Shopian, J&K and 20.2% in Meerut, UP of the children visit a dentist due to dentist advice. Barker and Horton done a study on pre-school children in Calfornia showed that parents played a major role [21]in inuencing their children's oral health and access to care . A similar study was done by Al-Darwish MS in 2016 reported that parents were the most popular 69.1% source of oral health [22]knowledge information for children . The awareness of periodontal diseases seems to have increased in Shopian, J&K and it was seen 1% of children have gum bleeding during brushing their teeth and 38.3% of the children's in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh experiences gum bleeding while brushing their teeth. Our observation is similar to Linn in which children [23]knew about periodontal diseases . Similar study was done by Sharma et al in 2013 in which he reported that the overall [24]prevalence of gingivitis among children was 53.4% . In the present study 54.8% in Shopian district J&K and 39.9% in Meerut district U.P children's stop brushing their teeth during gum bleeding and 40.8% in Shopian district J&K and 41.9% in Meerut district U.P children's brush slowly during gum bleeding. 4.4% in Shopian district J&K and 18.2% in Meerut district U.P of the children visit a dentist after gum bleeding [25] while brushing their teeth. Nicolas et al reported that frequent exposure to dental experiences might be a positive factor in helping to reduce patient's anxiety levels. The ndings from the present study revealed that the children's visit a dentist due dental pain. According to a study done by Zhu et al 73.6% of the children in China knew that regular [26]dental check-ups are necessary . This scenario observed in Malaysian, Jordanian studies and in study done by Mirza BA et al in Pakistan 2011 reported 57% of high socio-economic school children were only aware of brushing to prevent dental [27],[28]problems . Bharathi MP et al in 2012 reported in her study that the majority of the children had never visited a dentist due socioeconomic backgrounds, including family income, parental education and area of residence along with cost of dental care, which might have inuenced dental service [29]utilization . According to children's opinion 27.8% in Shopian, J&K and 36.3% of the participants in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh the major factor that cause dental problem were sweets and the observation was less as done by Al-Omiri et al (87.4%). 55.0% of the children's in Shopian, J&K and 23.5% in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh of the children's don't know the effects of sweets on teeth. Abhinav Singh who conducted a study to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and practice among National Cadet Corps in South India in which 49% of Codets reported consumption of sweets very often and 14.4% [30]reported its consumption all the time . 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VOLUME-9, ISSUE-2, FEBRUARY-2020 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.36106/gjra 46 X GJRA - GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS