Dental / oral health related knowledge, attitude and practices and their impact on dental/oral health - A community study in eastern/central Uttar pradesh population.

Dr Bhaskar Agarwal

Volume : VIII, Issue : VII, July - 2019

Dental / oral health related knowledge, attitude and practices and their impact on dental/oral health - A community study in eastern/central Uttar pradesh population.

Dr Bhaskar Agarwal

Abstract :

Background/Aim: Study of dental/oral health related knowledge, attitude and practices and their association with dental/oral health issues at population level has not been studied extensively. The present study attempted to study the dental/oral health related knowledge, attitude and practices and their association with dental/oral health issues in eastern/central Uttar Pradesh population. Material and Method: A total of 2118 persons aged >12 years of age at 23 locations in 7 different districts of Eastern/Central Uttar Pradesh attending various dental check up camps organized by Society of Medical Dental & Public Health, were enrolled in the study. Knowledge, attitude and practices of the study population were using a 14–item questionnaire developed for the purpose having 6 questions related with knowledge and 4 each for attitude and practice domain respectively. A total of six oral/dental health issues were also studied. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software. Results: Majority of respondents provided correct responses for half or more than half of questions on knowledge (91.7%), attitude (88%) and practice (94%) domains. Almost half (49.7%) the respondents had oral/dental health issues. A total of 559 (26.4%) had two or more issues. Statistically, a significant association was observed between low knowledge, attitude and practice scores with oral/dental health issues. Conclusion: Despite majority of respondents reporting general knowledge, attitude and practices, the prevalence of oral/dental health issues in study population was quite high thus indicating that there is need to create awareness and appropriate dental care facilities.