Oral Health Awareness among the General Population in Chennai

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate oral health awareness among the general population.Background: According to WHO, the prevalence of periodontitis, dental caries, leukoplakia, OSMF are 86%, 68%, 0.59% and 0.55% respectively in India. Habits in Indian population like smoking and alcohol is also a cause for bad oral health at a prevalence of 15.02% and 8.78% respectively. Dental care can sometimes be a forgotten part of a healthy life style. While its importance is often underestimated, the need for regular dental care cannot be overstated. Oral health has been neglected for long in India. Materials and Methods: A total of 150 people in the age group 15-70 years were selected using random sampling technique. A self-administered structured questionnaire including 13multiple choice questions was given to them. The results were analyzed. Result: In the present study, questionnaire was distributed to 150 patients who were randomly selected in that only 101 participants were interested to take part in it. Only 37.62% of participants brushes twice daily, rest of them brushes only once a day. Cleansing method has been improved,82.17% uses tooth brush and paste to clean their teeth. About 13% of participants where aware about the interdental aids out of which 11% used floss and 2% used interdental brush, 70.39% participants uses tongue cleaner regularly and only 30%uses mouth wash. The results of this study suggest that oral health awareness and practices among the study population are improved when compared with the pervious studies but still there is lack of awareness thus need to be improved. Conclusion: The above-mentioned oral hygiene problems can be prevented by simply providing awareness, which is a more cost- effective alternative than expensive dental procedures. Dental professionals, Dental Marketing Agencies, and media too may join hands with the government to help in the prevention of oral health problems by improving knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and practices toward oral hygiene among the general population.