Abstract: PURPOSE: To assess the relation of oral health knowledge, attitude and practice(KAP) of the students aged 12-15 in Shanghai, and provide data support for intervention strategies of oral health. METHODS: A total of 2927 subjects aged 12-15 years old were selected according to the method of the Fourth National Oral Health Epidemiological Survey and the questionnaire was filled. SAS 9.4 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The subjects were divided into 2 categories according to their knowledge and attitude of oral prevention and oral health. TypeⅠgroup, with high cognitive attitude, had more teeth brushing times than those of typeⅡgroup with poor cognitive attitudes( χ²=22.9, P<0.01). TypeⅠgroup had more people knowing and using toothpaste with fluoride. ( χ²=23.7, P<0.01). The frequency of type I group using dental floss was significantly higher than typeⅡgroup( χ²=15.1, P<0.01), while the frequency of having deserts was relatively lower than typeⅡgroup ( χ²=22.1, P<0.01), and the frequency of having drinks was lower than type Ⅱ( χ²=26.4, P<0.01). The two groups had no significant difference in the frequency of consumption of other drinks with sugar ( χ²=10.5, P=0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Oral related risk behaviors are quite common among 12-15 years students in Shanghai, which are closely related to the knowledge and attitude.

Key words: Oral health, Clustering analysis, Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior