Abstract
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE:
 Knowledge regarding oral hygiene and routine practices of maintaining that hygiene contributes to good oral and overall health of a person. The objective of the study was to evaluate the oral hygiene perception and practices among patients belonging to rural and urban areas visiting a public dental institute.
 METHODOLOGY:
 A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the dental outpatient department (OPD) of the Institute of Dentistry Liaquat University Jamshoro Sindh from June-December 2019. All patients who reported the dental OPD during the duration of the study belonging to either gender and age 18-70 years were included in the study. While those who reported in emergency with painful conditions and chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, etc., were excluded. A written questionnaire was used to collect participant’s information including socio-demographic details and information related to oral hygiene perceptions and practices. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 24.0.
 RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 28.94±9.84 years, with an age range of 19-58 years. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between female and male participants regarding knowledge and perception of the role of oral cleaning in decay prevention, different methods of preventing dental problems, and the role of remnants of sweet food in damaging teeth. While statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in the type of toothbrush used, brushing technique, and frequency of changing toothbrush was demonstrated between participants belonging to rural and urban regions.
 CONCLUSION: Knowledge and routine practices regarding oral hygiene are much lower in residents of the rural region compared with the urban region.
Highlights
Oral diseases are considered a major public health concern, owing to their high prevalence and effects on an individual’s quality of life in causing agony, distress, defacement, and even mortality, affecting more than 3 billion people worldwide [1]
[15] The sample population in the present study consisted of a greater proportion of males, with 54.0% visiting the dental outpatient department (OPD) in the six months during the survey
This data is on par with previous studies, with a higher rate of utilization by male patients . [9,14,16] While some studies reported that a higher proportion of participants in their study were female . [17,18] Toothbrushes and pastes have been accredited globally as the means for everyday oral hygiene routines
Summary
Oral diseases are considered a major public health concern, owing to their high prevalence and effects on an individual’s quality of life in causing agony, distress, defacement, and even mortality, affecting more than 3 billion people worldwide [1]. Like most chronic diseases in general are directly linked to lifestyle and in the last few years, a decline in caries prevalence is being observed in the epidemiological profile of dental caries [3]. This occurs as a result of oral health promotion programs, and fluoridated drinking water. The objective of the study was to evaluate the oral hygiene perception and practices among patients belonging to rural and urban areas visiting a public dental institute.
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