Abstract
The aim of this study is to evaluate the oral hygiene and gingival health among teenagers aged 13 to 16 years old living in Al–Rashidiya in Mosul City. The sample consisted of 633 students (345 males and 288 females) examined in their schools using plane mirrors and periodontal probes. Plaque index by Silness and Löe (1964) and gingival index by Löe and Silness (1963) were used for detecting plaque and gingival scores respectively. The results showed that 31.9% and 31.3% of the sample brush their teeth for males and females respectively while 25.1% and 11.7% of students did not. A very highly significant difference has been found in mean plaque and gingival scores between those brushed their teeth and those not in all age groups. The study revealed that mean plaque score for total males and females were 1.01, 1.00 for those brush their teeth and 1.32, 1.46 for those not and there is no significant difference by sex. While the mean gingival score for total males and females were 1.28, 1.31 for those brush their teeth and 1.63, 1.76 for those not, with no significant difference between sex. It has been obvious that mean plaque and gingival indices increased with increasing age of the individual.
