Objectives:

This study aims to characterize the knowledge and attitudes of Portuguese and Timorese pre-school and primary school teachers teaching in Timor-Leste towards children's oral health and its determinants.

Methods:

In this cross-sectional study, an online self-administered questionnaire was applied for data collection. Thirteen schools and 149 teachers were invited to participate in this study. For statistical analysis, absolute and relative frequencies, mean, and standard deviation were determined.

Results:

A participation rate of 69.1% was obtained, with 103 teachers responding to the questionnaire. Most of the teachers were female (66.0%) and of Timorese nationality (51.5%). The majority stated that they check the food students bring from home to eat at school (67.0%), and 72.8 confirmed that they have the perception of which students have inadequate oral hygiene. Most of the participants, 82.5, feel the need for training in the area of health in the school setting.

Conclusions:

Results revealed that teachers had good knowledge about children's oral health; however, this knowledge was not used in school oral-health education programs. It is essential to invest in the training of teachers so that they feel more confident in delivering school oral-health programs and, thus, the school can be an effective means of oral health promotion.

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