ORAL HEALTH: PERCEPTION AND PRACTICES

IN A RURAL COMMUNITY OF DOIWALA Dr. Seema Diwan, Department of Dental Sciences

HIHT University

DOIWALA

- 798 participants above 3 years of age - Three age groups

- Questionnaire - Oral check-up

10,4%3-10 yrs

18,6%11-19 yrs

70,9%>19 yrs

I.Oral health perception

1. “How is the health of your teeth and gums?”

3-10 yrs 11-18 yrs

>19 yrs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%Excellent

Good

Average

Poor

Very Poor

Don't know / No Answer

3-10 yrs

11-18 yrs

>19 yrs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Never

Occasionally

Almost constantly

Don't know / No Answer

2. “Did you have pain in your teeth or gums in the next 12 months?”

3-10 yrs 11-18 yrs

>19 yrs0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

0 times

1-3 times

More than 3 times

Don't know / No Answer

3. “How many times you visited a dentist in the past 12 months?”

4. “Do you wear a denture?”

3-10 yrs 11-18 yrs >19 yrs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

None

Partial

Full upper

Full lower

Complete Dentures

Don't know / No Answer

Conclusion

1.Oral health perception in rural Community of Doiwala is very high inspite of their bad oral health status.

2. People do not give importance to oral cavity, hence they need oral health education.

II. Oral health practices

1. “How often do you brush your teeth?”

3-10 yrs

11-18 yrs

>19 yrs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Less then once a week

Once a week

2-3 times a week

Every day

Twice or more a day

Don't know / No Answer

2. “What do you use for brushing?”

3-10 yrs

11-18 yrs

>19 yrs

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100% Plastic tooth brush

Charcoal

Chew sticks or meswak

Wooden or plastic toothpicks

Finger

Brush & finger

Don't know / No Answer

3. “How often do you eat sticky food like bread or bisquits?”

3-10 yrs 11-18 yrs >19 yrs0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Never

Occasionally

Once a week

Every day

Don't know / No Answer

Conclusion1. People are saying that they brush their oral cavity everyday with plastic tooth brush but oral health status does not confirm this finding. It shows that they are aware of brushing. (may be from media)2. Young population is consuming sticky food more than adults. So they need more education to keep better oral hygeine.

SUMMARY

1.Rural population is having very high perception of oral health but oral health status is not good.

2.Oral health education is necssary for whole population but young people require more attention.

Acknowledgement

I want to thank Dr Sushil Bansal, Dr Vartika Saxena, Dr Deepak Goel, Anita Rawat, Pratap, Nursing and medical students for helping me in conducting and completing this study.

THANK YOU!