Practice and Barriers to Routine Dental Visits Among Secondary School Students in Kano Metropolis

Establishing regular dental attendance during adolescence is critical to preventing the progression of oral diseases into conditions requiring complex maxillofacial surgical intervention in adulthood. This study investigates the dental visiting practices, barriers to routine care, and oral health attitudes of secondary school students in Kano Metropolis, North West Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 480 students drawn from both public and private secondary schools using multi-stage sampling. A self-administered, structured questionnaire in English and Hausa was used to capture data on dental visiting frequency, reasons for dental visits, perceived barriers, and oral hygiene practices. Results show that only 18% of students reported visiting a dentist within the previous 12 months, and most visits were pain-motivated rather than preventive in nature. Key barriers identified include cost, fear of dental procedures, lack of parental awareness, and shortage of dental facilities within accessible proximity. Students from private schools demonstrated slightly better dental visiting behavior than their public school counterparts. Gender did not significantly influence dental attendance in this sample. These findings have direct implications for school oral health programs in Kano and similar urban centers across the North West zone. The study recommends targeted school-based oral health promotion initiatives and the integration of mobile dental outreach into the existing state school health program. Keywords: dental visits, adolescents, barriers, Kano, oral health behavior.