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Dental health awareness, attitude, oral health-related habits, and behaviors in relation to socio-economic factors among the municipal employees of Mysore city
BR Chandra Shekar1, C.V.K Reddy2, BC Manjunath3, S Suma4
1 Department of Community Dentistry, People's Dental Academy, Bhanpur, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
2 Department of Community Dentistry, J S S Dental College and Hospital, S S Nagar, Mysore, Karnataka, India
3 Department of Community Dentistry, Jaipur Dental College, Dhand, Amer Tehsil, NH-8, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
4 Department of Orthodontics, People's Dental Academy, Bhanpur, Bhopal, India
Correspondence Address:
B R Chandra Shekar
Department of Community Dentistry, People's Dental Academy, Bhanpur, Bhopal - 462 037, Madhya Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1755-6783.85761
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Objective: To assess the dental health awareness, attitude, oral health-related habits, and behaviors in relation to socioeconomic factors among the municipal employees of Mysore city. Study Design and Methodology: This study was cross-sectional in nature and involved completion of a predesigned structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included multiple option questions to collect information on awareness on dental diseases, visit to dentist, reasons for visit, reasons for not visiting dentist on routine basis, oral hygiene practices, and deleterious oral habits. Modified Kuppuswamy scale with readjustment of per capita income was used to classify individuals into different socioeconomic status (SES) categories. Data were entered onto a personal computer and analysis was done using SPSS version 14. Results: Awareness on dental diseases was 100% in upper SES and nil (0%) in the lower SES. Visit to dentist in the last 1 year was 100% in the upper SES and 32.3% in the lower SES. The prevalence of smoking, pan-chewing, and alcohol consumption was high in lower SES than in upper SES. Oral hygiene practices were better among the subjects in upper class than the lower ones. Conclusion: A direct relation was noted between the favorable dental health awareness, attitude, oral hygiene behavior, and SES. |
