Dental Neglect – A Nemesis in Deteriorating Dental Health Status Among Children in West Bengal – A Cross Sectional Study
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Abstract
Background: Dental neglect occurs whenever a parent disregard seeking the necessary dental care for their child in order to preserve their oral health and keep them free from pain and illness. Aim: Determining the association between dental neglect with a child's oral health, dental caries experience, and socioeconomic status using appropriate indices, scales, and questionnaires. Materials and Methods: This is cross-sectional research including 373 pairs of parents and children. In this study, a scale called the "dental neglect scale" and a questionnaire were utilized to assess the level of dental neglect among the parents of the children. Children's oral health status was clinically examined using the oral hygiene index, decayed, extracted, filled teeth (dmft), pulp, ulcers, fistula, abscess (pufa), decaying, missing, filled teeth (DMFT), PUFA as defined by the World Health Organization. The Modified Kuppuswamy Scale (2019), was used to determine socioeconomic class. Using IBM SPSS statistics 24.0, Tuckey post hoc test and one way ANOVA were applied correctly for statistical analysis (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: Dental neglect was seen to be higher among the urban population (Mean=26.39), among the females (24.03), among the income group 13,161-23,354, highest among the High school certificate group and among Clerical, shop‑ owner/farm group. High dental neglect group shows poor oral hygiene status and increased caries status. Conclusion: Child dental neglect was more prevalent among parents with a secondary education and who lived in an urban area. Children's oral health was negatively impacted because of dental neglect.
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References
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