Oral Health; extent of awareness among patients visiting Islamic International Dental Hospital

ABSTRACT

It has been now established beyond doubt that dental diseases are the most common cause of human suffering. It is due to the impact of these diseases and human suffering that World Health Organization has included Oral Health as one of the indicators for health of individual. The National Oral Health survey clearly indicates that oral diseases burden the people of Pakistan and there is lack of perception of needs or absence of tooth ache that causes a delay in seeking dental treatment. The survey also shows that preventive services are rare and there is lack of oral health education, preventive practices and lack of dental health promotional programs in Pakistan. There is no study at national level to reflect the extent of awareness regarding oral health in population. The present study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the extent of knowledge regarding oral health among patients visiting Islamic International Dental Hospital [IIDH]. 200 patients visiting IIDH were randomly selected in this cross sectional study that was conducted from May to July 2013. Out of these 80 were male and 120 were female. The age range of patients was from 15 to 60 years. None of the patient had any psychological or motor dysfunction which could inhibit the perception and performance of oral hygiene measures. All the patients were educated and ensured of anonymity. A multiple choice questionnaire was designed and distributed among participants. The questionnaire included 13 questions with different responses and predetermined answers. The data thus collected was compiled, analyzed using SPSS version 17 and interpreted. In order to summarize the awareness level, responses were scored from 0-13 based on the number of correct responses. The extent of awareness was graded on a three scale parameter which was poor, fair and good. Results were expressed in terms of percentage. The results showed that only 4% of the patients scored good while 43%% and 53% scored fair and poor awareness respectively. The study concluded that the level of awareness regarding oral health is limited among patients visiting IIDH