Oral health knowledge, attitude and oral hygiene practices among adults in Rwanda

Introduction: oral diseases (OD), commonly dental caries and periodontitis are a major public health problem. Poor oral hygiene has been associated with OD, causing tooth loss, which leads to disability and compromised patients' oral health. In Rwanda, OD is among the leading causes of morbidity at the health center level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and oral health practices among adult participants in Rwanda Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was done among participants attending public health facilities in Nyarugenge District, Rwanda. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage distribution, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression at a 5% significant level. Results: among 426 participants who were interviewed, 39.44% (n=168) were 18-27 years old and the majority, 61.5% (n=262) were female. Poor oral health knowledge was found in 42% (n=179) of the participants, whilst 12.44% (n=53) showed poor oral health attitudes, and 67.37% (n=287) were found to have poor oral health practice. Participants with a high school level of education were more likely to have better oral health knowledge and the results were statistically significant aOR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.14; 2.82; p = 0.011 Conclusion: the findings of our study showed that almost half of the participants had poor oral health knowledge. Oral health attitude and oral hygiene practices were also lacking. There is a need to enhance oral health education in this community to improve their oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Among Trainee Community Health Officers in A Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

To evaluate the oral health-related knowledge and practices of trainee Community Health Officers. A cross-sectional descriptive study conducted using total population purposive sampling method with a self-administered questionnaire on 70 community health officer's trainees at the centre for training community health officers. Sixty-two trainees (response rate of 88.6%) participated made up of year one (45.2%) and year two 54.8%. %). Mean age of 33.5 years (SD=8.65). By gender, females 90.3% were more than males 9.7% while privately sponsored (53.2%) were more than government-sponsored 38.7% A majority had knowledge of Caries (98.4%), Periodontal disease (93.5%) and Oral cancer (96.8%). Year two trainees had more knowledge about periodontal diseases 54.8% compared to year one 38.5% (p<0.05). Most respondents (91.1%) reported dental visit to be important with 87.1% of the opinion that the visit should not be for pain only; 38.7% felt that dental treatment was expensive. More privately sponsored (51.5%) compared to government-sponsored (20.8%) felt that dental treatment was expensive (p<0.05). only 11.3% had visited the dentist in the past six months with dental experience gum bleeding (8.1%), dental caries (8.1%), and tooth sensitivity (21%). A majority (85.5%) rated their oral health to be good. The study showed that community health officer trainees have a good knowledge of oral diseases with the year two trainees demonstrating a better knowledge of caries, periodontal disease and oral cancer and self-rated oral health. Their role in oral health promotion programs at the Primary Health Care level should be encouraged to reduce the burden of oral health diseases in the community.

Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Among Trainee Community Health Officers in A Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

To evaluate the oral health-related knowledge and practices of trainee Community Health Officers. A cross-sectional descriptive study conducted using total population purposive sampling method with a self-administered questionnaire on 70 community health officer's trainees at the centre for training community health officers. Sixty-two trainees (response rate of 88.6%) participated made up of year one (45.2%) and year two 54.8%. %). Mean age of 33.5 years (SD=8.65). By gender, females 90.3% were more than males 9.7% while privately sponsored (53.2%) were more than government-sponsored 38.7% A majority had knowledge of Caries (98.4%), Periodontal disease (93.5%) and Oral cancer (96.8%). Year two trainees had more knowledge about periodontal diseases 54.8% compared to year one 38.5% (p<0.05). Most respondents (91.1%) reported dental visit to be important with 87.1% of the opinion that the visit should not be for pain only; 38.7% felt that dental treatment was expensive. More privately sponsored (51.5%) compared to government-sponsored (20.8%) felt that dental treatment was expensive (p<0.05). only 11.3% had visited the dentist in the past six months with dental experience gum bleeding (8.1%), dental caries (8.1%), and tooth sensitivity (21%). A majority (85.5%) rated their oral health to be good. The study showed that community health officer trainees have a good knowledge of oral diseases with the year two trainees demonstrating a better knowledge of caries, periodontal disease and oral cancer and self-rated oral health. Their role in oral health promotion programs at the Primary Health Care level should be encouraged to reduce the burden of oral health diseases in the community.

A KAP study of oral health status among adults in a rural area of Jammu District

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.

Componentes culturales que influyen en la salud bucal / Cultural components that influence oral health

El propósito de este trabajo es realizar una revisión bibliográfica acerca de los conocimientos, las actitudesy las prácticas en salud bucal (CAPSB), tres componentes culturales que influyen en la incidencia de afecciones de la cavidad oral. La cultura y sus componentes han pasado por tres fases en su conceptualización: la concreta, la abstracta y la simbólica; esta última es la que se encuentra vigente y sobre la cual otras áreas del conocimiento han trabajado, entre ellas, las ciencias de la salud. La cultura es aprendida, estandarizada y compartida. Los componentes culturales son transmitidos mediante los procesos de socialización (primaria y secundaria) que determinan la manera en la que la salud, y por lo tanto el proceso salud-enfermedad, son comprendidos por los individuos. Los conocimientos son resultado deprocesos sociales y cognitivos que están determinados por las características aceptadas y representativas del grupo social en el que se desarrollan, son la parte cognitiva de la cultura. La concepción que cada ser humano tenga acerca de la salud bucal determinará su actitud. La actitud representa una forma de ser, una posición, inclinación o tendencia, es la variable intermedia entre una situación y la manera encómo se responde a ella. Las prácticas ante el proceso salud-enfermedad son acciones observables en los individuos y están presentes en los niveles individual, familiar y comunitario e impactan en la saludgeneral de las poblaciones. Este trabajo es una aproximación al tema, haciendo un acercamiento al casode la población mexicana.

The aim of this work is to review the literature about the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) about oral health, the three cultural components influencing the incidence of diseases at the oral cavity. The concept of culture and its components has undergone three phases: the concrete phase, the abstract phase and the symbolic phase; the latter is the current one, and the one over which other areas of knowledge have worked, including the health sciences. Culture can be learned, standardized and sha-red. Cultural components are transmitted through the processes of socialization (primary and secondary socialization) and they help determine the way in which health, and therefore the health-disease pro-cess, is understood by individuals. Knowledge is the result of social and cognitive processes determined by the characteristics accepted by and representative of the social group where they develop; they are the cognitive part of culture. The notion that every human being has about oral health will determine his/her attitude towards it. Attitude shows a way of being, a position, an inclination or tendency, it is a variable between situations and how people respond to them. Practices to face the health-disease process are actions that can be observed in individuals. They are present at the individual, family and community levels, and they impact on the overall health of the population. This work is an approach to the theme, while we discuss the Mexican population case.