A Self-Report on the Knowledge of Oral Hygiene Among Students of Allied Health in North India - A Cross-Sectional Research

Main Article Content

Jaywant Shivaji Thorat
M. M. Thorat
Jharashree Kashinath Sahoo

Abstract

Objective: This cross-sectional study's goal was to assess the oral hygiene knowledge and behaviors that students studying allied health in North India self-reported.


Methods: For the study, 500 students from diverse allied health programs were chosen. Data on their understanding, attitudes, and practices on oral hygiene were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire. There were a total of 18 questions in the questionnaire, some of which included demographic information. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the data, and tables were used to show the findings.


Results: 500 allied health students from north Indian colleges participated in the study. Knowledge of oral hygiene scored 6.4 out of 10 on average (SD=1.9). An awareness of oral hygiene was high in 35%, moderate in 48%, and low in 17%. The scores for the groups with high, moderate, and low knowledge were 8.5 (SD=0.7), 6.8 (SD=0.6), and 4.1 (SD=0.6), respectively. Knowledge level was strongly impacted by gender and field of study (p=0.001 and p=0.02, respectively). The mean score for nursing students was the highest (7.1), while the mean score for female participants was higher (6.7 vs. 5.8). The average scores for brushing teeth, using dental floss, and cleaning the tongue were, respectively, 6.5 (SD=1.7), 4.8 (SD=2.0), and 4.2 (SD=1.9). The most common knowledge related to tongue cleansing was dental brushing.


Conclusion: The study found that although allied health students in North India had a strong understanding of oral hygiene procedures, their actual implementation of such procedures fell short of expectations. Interventions are required to encourage this population to practice improved oral hygiene.

Article Details

How to Cite
Thorat, J. S. ., Thorat , M. M. ., & Sahoo, J. K. . (2023). A Self-Report on the Knowledge of Oral Hygiene Among Students of Allied Health in North India - A Cross-Sectional Research. Journal of Coastal Life Medicine, 11(1), 2684–2688. Retrieved from https://www.jclmm.com/index.php/journal/article/view/746
Section
Articles

References

World Health Organization. Oral health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health. Accessed on 9 May 2023.

Petersen PE. The World Oral Health Report 2003: continuous improvement of oral health in the 21st century – the approach of the WHO Global Oral Health Programme. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2003;31 Suppl 1:3-23.

Petersen PE, Baez RJ. Oral health surveys: basic methods - 5th ed. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013.

MacEntee MI, Wyatt CC, Beattie BL, et al. Provision of mouth-care in long-term care facilities: an educational trial. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2007;35(1):25-34. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0528.2007.00318.x.

Commission on Dental Accreditation. Accreditation standards for dental hygiene education programs. https://www.ada.org/~/media/CODA/Files/dental_hygiene_standards.ashx. Accessed on 9 May 2023.

World Health Organization. Health workforce requirements for universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.who.int/hrh/resources/health-observer17/en/. Accessed on 9 May 2023.

American Dental Association. Oral hygiene. https://www.ada.org/en/member-center/oral-health-topics/oral-hygiene. Accessed on 9 May 2023.

American Dental Association. MouthHealthy. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/. Accessed on 9 May 2023.

Goyal CR, Lyle DM, Qaqish JG, Schuller R. The addition of a water flosser to power tooth brushing: effect on bleeding, gingivitis, and plaque. J Clin Dent. 2012;23(2):57-63.

Petersen PE, Bourgeois D, Ogawa H, Estupinan-Day S, Ndiaye C. The global burden of oral diseases and risks to oral health. Bull World Health Organ. 2005;83(9):661-669.

Marsh PD. Dental plaque as a microbial biofilm. Caries Res. 2004;38(3):204-211.

Tonetti MS, Van Dyke TE; European Workshop in Periodontology group C. Periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: consensus report of the Joint EFP/AAP Workshop on Periodontitis and Systemic Diseases. J Periodontol. 2013;84(4 Suppl):S24-S29.

Kassebaum NJ, Smith AGC, Bernabé E, et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence, incidence, and disability-adjusted life years for oral conditions for 195 countries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors. J Dent Res. 2017;96(4):380-387.

Sankaranarayanan R. Oral cancer in India: an epidemiologic and clinical review. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1990;69(3):325-330. doi:10.1016/0030-4220(90)90294-3.

Loyha K, Vatanasapt P, Promthet S, Parkin DM. Risk Factors for Oral Cancer in Northeast Thailand [Internet]. Vol. 13, Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention; 2012. p. 5087–90. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2012.13.10.5087.

American Dental Association. Dental team. https://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/dental-team. Accessed

Kapoor D, Gill S, Singh A, Kaur I, Kapoor P. Oral hygiene awareness and practice amongst patients visiting the Department of Periodontology at a Dental College and Hospital in North India. Indian J Dent. 2014;5(2):64-68. doi:10.4103/0975-962X.135262.

Paul B, Basu M, Dutta S, Chattopadhyay S, Sinha D, Misra R. Awareness and Practices of Oral Hygiene and its Relation to Sociodemographic Factors among Patients attending the General Outpatient Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kolkata, India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2014;3(2):107-111. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.137611.

Kumar H, Behura SS, Ramachandra S, Nishat R, Dash KC, Mohiddin G. Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Among Dental and Medical Students in Eastern India - A Comparative Study. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2017;7(1):58-63. doi:10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_30_17.

Tadin A, Poljak Guberina R, Domazet J, Gavic L. Oral Hygiene Practices and Oral Health Knowledge among Students in Split, Croatia. Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(2):406. Published 2022 Feb 21. doi:10.3390/healthcare10020406.

Azodo CC, Ehizele AO, Umoh A, et al. Tooth brushing, tongue cleaning and snacking behaviour of dental technology and therapist students. Libyan J Med. 2010;5:10.3402/ljm.v5i0.5208. Published 2010 Aug 12. doi:10.3402/ljm.v5i0.5208

Martínez-Beneyto Y, Vera-Delgado MV, Pérez L, Maurandi A. Self-reported oral health and hygiene habits, dental decay, and periodontal condition among pregnant European women. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2011;114(1):18-22. doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2011.03.003.

Madan C, Arora K, Chadha VS, Manjunath BC, Chandrashekar BR, Rama Moorthy VR. A knowledge, attitude, and practices study regarding dental floss among dentists in India. J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2014;18(3):361-368. doi:10.4103/0972-124X.134578.