Simona Kelčíková, Eva Urbanová
Background: More than 90 % of Slovak population suffers from diseases of teeth and gums. Proper dental hygiene and other preventive measures can prevent caries and possible complications in children. Actual occurrence of these diseases in Slovakia is very high when compared with WHO goals. The article is focused on finding deficit in dental hygiene in selected sample of children and on basis of international guidelines new strategies are suggested. Patients and methods: The sample of 30 respondents included children at the age of 11 - 12 years. Dental hygiene deficit was measured by knowledge base test and direct monitoring of children how they cleaned their teeth. Results and conclusion: Insufficient knowledge about regular dental hygiene, frequency of cleaning teeth, dental hygiene aids, simple anatomy of teeth and complications of untreated caries were found. Direct monitoring revealed the complex deficit of skill of cleaning teeth techniques in each of 30 respondents. Educational program was suggested.