ABSTRACT
Background: Oral health is an integral part of general health and well being. It is important to know about the factors which having a bearing on oral health so that preventive measures can be taken. A research activity was planned to assess the oral health status and oral health practices of people in a rural community of Jammu region as very little is known about the knowledge and oral health practices of adults residing in this area.Methods: A cross sectional study for a period of four months was conducted in a village Tanda of R.S.Pura block of Jammu district. 324 adults above the age of 20 years (145 males and 179 females) were interviewed face to face with the help of a questionnaire consisting of questions from WHO technique of self assessment of oral health along with some more questions exploring the knowledge, attitude and local oral health practices.Results: The overall results showed adequate knowledge but poor attitude regarding oral health. Out of 324 subjects studied, 41.7% paid dental visits on having pain in teeth, gums or mouth and only 3.0% visited dentist routinely. 85.6 % of participants reported using brush and toothpaste but only 24.0% of all respondents brushed twice a day and only 16.7% of the respondents changed their tooth brush within three months.Conclusions: Oral health awareness, by promoting community based programs should be undertaken at periodic intervals for better oral health and hygiene.
ABSTRACT
Background: The aim of the study was to determine the oral stereognostic ability of completely edentulous individuals through identification of different forms. Methods: Twenty edentulous subjects were selected for the study, 5 large and 5 small geometrical forms were selected and placed intraorally and percentage identification was tabulated. Results:The mean percentage of the correct identification of large forms (91.64±8.71) and the mean percentage of correct identification of the small forms (76.27±11.58), using Student independent ‘t’ test, statistically significant difference was found between the two values (p<0.05). Conclusion: the discriminating ability of edentulous and dentulous was not statistically different, although the differences between large and small forms were significant.