ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Occupation plays a major role in the well-being of an individual and has an influence on oral health. Fishing is one such occupation that entails a lot of physical labour and encourages habits that lead to poor oral health. Therefore, it is critical to shed light on the oral health of this isolated population to improve their quality of life by various means. The aim of the study was to assess and compare the prevalence of dental caries, oral hygiene status and treatment needs of fisherman and non-fisherman population in South Goa, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study design was cross-sectional in nature. After a pilot study, multi-stage random sampling technique was employed and 400 study participants were recruited. World Health Organization Oral Health Assessment Form (1997) and Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) were used to record the study variables. Inter-examiner reliability assessed using Kappa statistics were found to be 90% and 88%, respectively. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and linear and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Fishermen had significantly higher caries prevalence (82%) and poor oral hygiene (46%) than non- -fishermen. Extraction (42.2%) and pulp care (23.6%) were the highest treatment need among fishermen. They were 2.08 times more prone to dental caries than non-fishermen. Fishermen who used a toothbrush were 4.5 times less susceptible to caries. The dependence of caries prevalence and OHI-S score on occupation, oral hygiene aid and age were 14% and 25.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Fishermen in South Goa had high caries prevalence, poor oral hygiene status and they required extensive dental treatment when compared to non-fishermen.
