ABSTRACT
Background: Studies till date have focussed on the prevalence of dental disorders and the related health seeking behaviour. Inequity in seeking dental health care is debated based on age, wealth and education. This study focussed on geographical inequity in awareness and treatment seeking for dental health care. Methods: Paper compares awareness for dental problems and related treatment practices of rural population of a district in Haryana with rural area of adjoining union territory Chandigarh. Results: In rural Chandigarh, more than 90% knew about dental caries and dentures, whereas, in rural Haryana only 50% knew about dental caries and 70% about dentures. Knowledge about gum problems, mal-alignment, and growth of plaque was low. Knowledge about scaling, and root canal treatment was low in both rural areas. Majority of subjects (66.7%) attending health camp in rural Haryana never underwent a dental check-up, compared to 41% in rural Chandigarh. In rural Haryana, commonly available dental services are extractions and filling, whereas, Chandigarh has wider spectrum of services available. Conclusions: Poor awareness of dental morbidity, treatment practices and treatment seeking is possibly linked to the availability of the services. Overall, penetration of newer treatments for dental health care in the community has been slower and more so in the rural areas.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the level of dental health care access and associated factors, at various public health facilities in the Union Territory (UT) of Chandigarh. Materials and Methods: A study was done using a multistage random sampling technique, to interview adult respondents at their homes and to interview the dentists in the public dental clinics and hospitals. Results: The mean composite access score was 59.2 (SD 18.9) in urban areas and 60.5 (SD 20.9) in rural areas (P=0.64) on a scale of 100. The mean score for the self-perceived condition of their oral health was 6.47 (95% CI 6.17 - 6.76). Thirty-four percent of the respondents did not contact a dentist despite having a problem in the last year, primarily because dental problems were not important for them (45%), they lacked time (22%), and took self-medication (16%). Overall 58% of the respondents suggested government clinics and 44% liked private dentists for treatment of dental cavities. The government setup was preferred because the facilities were cheaper and affordable. Conclusions: Dental health care access and only limited dental facilities were available in most of the dental clinics in Chandigarh. Self-reported dental problem was low, and people ignored their dental problems.