Keywords
knowledge
oral hygiene
practice
Abstract
Introduction: Poor oral health affects quality of life. Experience of pain, eating, and chewing problems; embarrassment about shape of teeth or about missing, discoloured or damaged teeth can adversely affect people's daily lives and well-being.
Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding oral health among patients visiting a medical college.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Nobel Medical College, after obtaining ethical clearance from the institutional review committee. Convenience sampling technique was utilised for data collection from 2021 March to 2021 June. Total of 250 patients visiting Department of Community and Public Health Dentistry and Department of Periodontics were included. Data on the oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices, were collected by means of a self-administered closed-ended questionnaire. Prior written informed consent was taken from all the study participants. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.
Results: Total of 250 outpatients participated in this study out of which 167 (66.8%) were males and 83 (33.2%) were females. Majority, 170 (68%) brushed their teeth for <3 minutes, and only 25 (10%) subjects used interdental aids. More than half of respondents were aware about the role of tobacco in oral cancer and its impact on general health. Majority (88, 35%) yielded sources of information about oral health from radio and television.
Conclusions: The knowledge and attitude regarding oral health in selected population was low. Hence, to promote good oral health and education about correct oral hygiene practices, there is need for conducting oral health education programs at periodic intervals.
References
Ketaki Kamath, Dr Pradeepa. Knowledge, behaviour and attitude regarding preventive oral health care among dental students in saveetha dental college. Int J Sci Res.2017;6(9):136-8.
Chandra Shekar BR, Reddy CV, Manjunath BC, Suma S. Dental health awareness, attitude, oral health-related habits, and behaviors in relation to socio-economic factors among the municipal employees of Mysore city. Ann Trop Med Public Health.2011;(4):99-106.
World Health Organisation. Oral health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention. 2007. Available at: http:/www.who.int/iris/ handle/10665/21909.Accessed on 15 April 2021.
Bala K, Gupta R, Ara A, Sahni B. A KAP study of oral health status among adults in a rural area of Jammu District. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2019; 6(1):1-6.
Nagarajappa R, Sahare P, Shukla N, Tuteja JS, Bhalla A. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding oral health among out patients at Rama Dental College, Kanpur. Rama Univ J Dent Sci. 2015 Mar; 2(1):8-14.
Sharda A, Sharda J. Factors influencing choice of oral hygiene products used among the population of Udaipur, India. Int J Dent Clin. 2010;2(2):7-12.
Zhu L, Petersen PE, Wang HY, Bian JY, Zhang BX. Oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour of adults in China. Int Dent J. 2005;55(4): 23141.
Hamilton ME, Coulby WM. Oral health knowledge and habits of senior elementary school students. J Public Health Dent.1991;51(4):212-9.
Jain N, Mitra D, Ashok KP, Dundappa J, Soni S, Ahmed S. Oral hygiene-awareness and practice among patients attending opd at vyas dental college and hospital, jodhpur. J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2012;16(4):524-8.
Dilip CL. Health status, treatment requirements, knowledge and attitude towards oral health of police recruits in karnataka. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent.2005;5(5):20-34.
Jamjoom HM. Preventive oral health knowledge and practice in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. J KAU Med Sci. 2001;9(1):17-25.
Mohd-Dom TN, Omar R, Malik NAA, Saiman K, Rahmat N. Self-reported oral hygiene practices and periodontal status of visually impaired adults. Glob J Health Sci.2010;2(2):184-91.