Abstract
Background: According to the World Health Organization(WHO) the Promotion of oral health is a cost-effective strategy to reduce the burden of oral disease and maintain oral health and quality of life. It is also an integral part of health promotion in general, as oral health is a determinant of general health and quality of life . Objectives: To find out proportion of different types of common dental problems identified during the study period in dental OPD, to identify socio demographic factors related to dental problems and to assess the relationship between oral hygiene practices and common dental problems, if any. Study settings: Dental out patient department of Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata,India. Study design: Hospital based cross sectional observational study. Study population: Patients aged 10 years and above, attending dental OPD. Methodology: By systematic random sampling 366 patients were selected for interview . Socio- demographic information, type of dental problems, practices regarding maintenance of oral hygiene were recorded and analysed. Results: Maximum number of study subjects presenting with dental problems were in the age group of 30-39 and 40-49 years(24.6% and 20.2% respectively), 56.3% were females, and 35.8% were illiterate and just literate. 53.6% of patients used to brush their teeth twice or more, in 39.0% of subjects technique of brushing was horizontal, it was circular in 24.6% , Oral rinsing after every meal was done by 61.2% patients, and after major meals in 19.1%. 68.9% of total study subjects had dental caries, 50.8% had gingivitis and 32.2% had abrasion of teeth. Tobacco chewing was positively related to dental caries whereas increasing age positively influenced teeth abrasion. Brushing in circular direction and frequent oral rinsing were found to be protective against dental problems.
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