Correlation of oral health related quality of life with dentition status and treatment need among 12 year old school children of Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad.

AIM: To determine the relationship between Oral Health-related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) with Dentition Status and Treatment need among 12 year old school children of Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out among 990 private school children aged 12 years old in Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad city. OHRQoL was assessed by 16-item Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14), and Oral hygiene was evaluated using Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S), and Dentition status and Treatment need. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Study population proportions and mean scores were compared using Chi-square test, Student t- test, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Spearman's analysis was done to determine correlation between CPQ11-14and its domain scores with OHI-S and Dentition status and Treatment Need based on gender. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: In the present study, all domains of CPQ11-14i.e., Oral Symptoms (OS) (3.27 ± 2.5; P = 0.0001), Functional Limitation (FL) (1.48 ± 2.1; P = 0.02), Emotional Wellbeing (EW) (1.83 ± 2.5; P = 0.02) and Social Wellbeing (SW) (1.25 ± 2.02; P = 0.0002) showed significant gender difference, with males having higher mean score compared to females. The majority of the study population was caries free 789 (79.7%). In addition, the dental caries experience among males and females was around 20% (p = 0.92). When total mean DMFT and DT scores were compared based on gender, no statistically significant difference was noted though females showed higher mean score. CONCLUSION: The study results indicate that, there is a correlation between oral hygiene status and dentition status with quality of life.

Blood Donation - Are We Willing? - a Cross-Sectional Study Among Dental Students.

BACKGROUND: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards blood donation among a cohort of dental students. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included all the undergraduate and post-graduate dental students of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital. A self-administered questionnaire comprised of four parts. The first part gathered socio-demographic data. The subsequent parts consisted of 11-knowledge questions (K1-11), 11attitude questions (A1-11), and the fourth part evaluated the practice of blood donation (P1-11). p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Around 63.7% responded correctly to the question that blood donation causes transmission of infection to the donor with the use of infected needles (K5), whereas only 3.8% knew that anemics, diabetics, hypertensives, and pregnant women cannot donate blood (K9). Most of the participants had positive attitudes towards blood donation except that only 23.7% thought it is not a religious duty (A5). Overall, when the practice regarding blood donation was asked, the majority of the participants (78.2%) had never donated blood, which was significant based on gender and year of study (p = 0.0001). The mean percentage of correct knowledge was significantly higher in males (24.52 ± 14.01; p = 0.03) but surprisingly a more positive attitude towards blood donation was seen among females (76.25 ± 18.27; p = 0.0007). Likewise, based on the year of study, a significant difference was observed for correct knowledge and positive attitude. CONCLUSIONS: The present study reveals less than satisfactory blood donation practice among dental students and highlights the need for educational programs.

Effect of Frequency and Duration of Tobacco Use on Oral Mucosal Lesions ­ A Cross-Sectional Study among Tobacco Users in Hyderabad, India

Purpose: Tobacco use is one of the most important risk factors for the development of oral mucosal lesions including oral pre-cancer and cancer. The type and location of the lesion varies with the type of tobacco used, the way it is used, and the frequency and duration of use. Hence, the present study aimed to determine the effect of frequency and duration of tobacco use on oral mucosal lesions among tobacco users in Hyderabad city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 280 tobacco users who were categorized into smokers, chewers and mixed groups according to the habit. One forty subjects diagnosed with Oral Mucosal Lesions, designated as cases and One forty lesion free controls, frequency matched for age, gender, habit and family income were assessed. The study protocol included a visual oral soft tissue examination and a questionnaire-based interview. Statistical analysis was done using Chi square test and t- test. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to assess the association of the variables with lesions. Results: Oral submucous fibrosis (18%) was the most common oral mucosal lesion followed by Leukoplakia (14%) and Smoker's palate (12%). Dose-response relationships were observed for both duration and frequency of habits on the risk of oral mucosal lesions. However, it was significant only for frequency of the habit. A significant positive correlation was observed between occurrence of lesion and those with no education (p=0.005). Conclusion: The study revealed that frequency and duration of tobacco use was associated with the risk of oral mucosal lesions.

Self-Reported Obstacles to Regular Dental Care among Information Technology Professionals.

INTRODUCTION: Good oral health is important for an individual as well as social well-being. Occupational stress and work exhaustion in Information Technology (IT) professionals may influence the oral health and oral health related quality of life. AIM: To assess and compare self-reported obstacles for regular dental care and dental visits among IT professionals based on age, gender, dental insurance and working days per week. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,017 IT professionals to assess the self-reported obstacles to regular oral health care in Hyderabad city, Telangana, India. The Dental Rejection of Innovation Scale (DRI-S) was employed in this study. Comparison between means of DRI-S based on variables was done using t-test and ANOVA. The association between variables and DRI-S was determined using Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 1017 participants comprising of 574 (56%) males and 443 (44%) females participated in the study. As age increased, a significant increase in mean DRI-S scores was seen for total and individual domains except for the "Situational" domain wherein higher mean score (9.42±2.5; p=0.0006) was observed among 30-39 years age group. Even though females reported higher mean scores for total and individual domains when compared to males, nevertheless significant difference was seen only for total (p=0.03) and "Lack of Knowledge" (p=0.001) domain. CONCLUSION: Self-reported obstacles to regular dental care was more with increasing age, increased number of working days per week, irregular dental visits and absence of dental insurance facility.

Physical activity among dental health professionals in Hyderabad City: A questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: To assess and compare physical activity based on age, gender, marital status, education, and employment among dental health professionals in Hyderabad City, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among dentists and they were personally interviewed by a single trained interviewer. The frequency (in days) and time (in minutes) spent in doing vigorous- and moderate-intensity activity in a typical week in three domains and sedentary behavior were assessed using 16-item Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Metabolic equivalents (METs) were used to express the intensity of physical activities. RESULTS: Overall, 60.7% of the 313 respondents were physically active, with activity at work and commuting activity were the main contributors of physical activity. With increasing age, there was a decrease in physical activity with more sedentary behavior, professionals in age group of 21-30 years, who were single, those with Bachelor's Degree and those in teaching field performed activity at work, commuting, and recreational activity for more minutes with overall high MET minutes per week and least sedentary behavior. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of physical activity was high among dental health professionals.

HPV, Cervical Cancer and Pap Test Related Knowledge Among a Sample of Female Dental Students in India.

BACKGROUND: The present study was designed to ascertain knowledge about HPV, cervical cancer (CC) and the Pap test among female dental students of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Hyderabad, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire covering demographic details, knowledge relating to human papilloma virus (HPV) (8 items), cervical cancer (4 items) and the Pap smear (6 items) was employed. Responses were coded as "True, False and Don't Know". Mean and standard deviation (SD) for correct answers and levels of knowledge were determined. RESULTS: Based on the year of study, significant differences in knowledge of HPV were noted for questions on symptoms (p=0.01); transmission from asymptomatic partners (p=0.002); treatment with antibiotics (p=0.002); start of sexual activity (p=0.004); and recommended age for HPV vaccination (p=0.01). For knowledge regarding CC, significance was observed for the age group being affected (p=0.008) and symptoms of the disease in early stages (p=0.001). Indications for Pap smear tests like symptoms' of vaginal discharge (p=0.002), marital status (p=0.01) and women with children (p=0.02) had significant difference based on the year of study. Based on religion, transmission of HPV via pregnancy, HPV related diseases except CC and preventive measures except condom use and oral contraceptives showed significant differences. However, significant variation with religion was observed only for two preventive measures of CC (Pap test; p=0.004) and HPV vaccination (p=0.003). Likewise, only the frequency of Pap test showed a significant difference for religion (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasizes the lack of awareness with regard to HPV, CC and screening with pap smear even among health professionals. Hence, regular health campaigns are essential to reduce the disease burden.

Self-reported attitudes and beliefs towards dental care among a South Indian population.

PURPOSE: To investigate the attitudes and beliefs towards oral health care based on gender, age and educational levels of a cross section of a South Indian population in Hyderabad city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised a convenience sample of the general population of Kamalanagar area, Kothapet ward, Hyderabad city, Andhra Pradesh. The questionnaire consisted of close-ended questions and was divided into three sections to gather the demographic details, self-reported attitudes (A1-A9) and beliefs (B1-B16) about dentistry. For all these questions, a 'yes' response denoted a negative/unfavourable attitude/belief and 'no' response a positive/favourable attitude/belief towards dentistry. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 33.21 ± 13.39 years with the majority possessing a university degree (672; 60%). Based on the age groups, statistically significant differences were noted for preferring to go to a traditional healer first (A1) (P = 0.01) and with regard to the cleanliness of dental clinics (A9) (P = 0.003). Likewise, education also influenced the attitudes of the respondents, where the more well-educated respondents significantly more often answered 'no' to the items 'dental visit only when in pain' (A2) (P = 0.001) and 'visit only with family, friends and neighbours' (A3) (P = 0.02) and concerning cleanliness of the dental clinics (A9) (P = 0.05). Statistically significant differences was documented for most of the questions according to educational levels except for 'dental treatment is very expensive' (B4), 'tooth lost anyhow' (B6) and 'regular dental check-up not required' (B14). The overall comparison of attitude scores revealed no significant difference for the variables. Nevertheless, educational level showed significant differences for belief score with a higher mean score for university graduates (9.82 ± 3.36) (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Within the limits of the study, it can be concluded that a higher educational level led to a significantly more positive response to dentistry as compared to gender and age groups. In addition, the influence of traditional, social and cultural factors on dental care among this population cannot be ruled out.

Evaluating Student's Perceptions of the Learning Environment in an Indian Dental School.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate student's perception of the learning environment in a private dental institute in India based on DREEM inventory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included students in all four years of the undergraduate dental course of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Hyderabad, India. Self-administered Dundee Ready Education environment Measure (DREEM) inventory consisting of 50-items on a five-point Likert scale was utilized to assess the students' perceptions regarding learning environment in this academic dental school. Comparison for the total and domain DREEM score means was carried out via independent t-test for dichotomous variables (gender) and ANOVA for more than two variables (year of study). Significant difference was noted for p < 0.05. RESULTS: The response rate for this study was 86.8%. Mean age of the study participants was 19.61 + 1.50 y. The overall DREEM score for this population was 125.24 + 21.10 reflecting a more of positive than negative education environment in this institution. When individual domain scores were accounted, except for the domain SAS, females had a higher mean scores for all domains which was however statistically significant only for the domains SPL (p = 0.03) and SPT (p = 0.01). Likewise, significant differences were also noted for SPL and SPT based on the year of study, wherein for both the domains, third year students had significantly higher mean scores and least was recorded for fourth year students. Correlation of the various domains demonstrated significant positive correlation among the domains. CONCLUSION: Overall this sample of dental students rated the learning environment in this dental institute as positive.

Breast Self-examination: Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among Female Dental Students in Hyderabad City, India.

AIM: The aim was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding breast self-examination (BSE) in a cohort of Indian female dental students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire study was conducted on dental students at Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 12). Chi-square test was used for analysis of categorical variables. Correlation was analyzed using Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient. The total scores for KAP were categorized into good and poor scores based on 70% cut-off point out of the total expected score for each. P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: This study involved a cohort of 203 female dental students. Overall, the total mean knowledge score was 14.22 ± 8.04 with the fourth year students having the maximum mean score (19.98 ± 3.68). The mean attitude score was 26.45 ± 5.97. For the practice score, the overall mean score was 12.64 ± 5.92 with the highest mean score noted for third year 13.94 ± 5.31 students. KAP scores upon correlation revealed a significant correlation between knowledge and attitude scores only (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The study highlights the need for educational programs to create awareness regarding regular breast cancer screening behavior.

Dentists' knowledge, attitudes and practices toward patients with epilepsy in Hyderabad city, India.

AIM: The present study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices about epilepsy among a group of dentists in Hyderabad city, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All dentists registered with the local Dental Association branch were eligible to participate in this questionnaire study. Descriptive and Inferential Statistics were used. Multiple group analysis was done using Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann Whitney U Test was used for two-group comparison. The variables were taken as significant at a p value of 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 217 respondents with mean age of 33.16±10.4 years participated in the study. Most respondents possessed a post-graduate (Master of Dental Surgery - MDS) degree (59.4%). A convulsion or shaking was identified as the most familiar recognizable symptom of epilepsy. 84.3% of the dentists would not object to their children having association with patients with epilepsy, and 61.3% would not object to their relative marrying a person with a history of epilepsy. A large number of dentists (178; 82%) were confident to treat a person with epilepsy. 95.3% assumed that they have an ethical responsibility to treat this population. None of the practice-related questions showed any significant difference with respect to different age groups, gender or the education levels (BDS/MDS). CONCLUSION: Our study reflects that this group of Indian dentists has a fairly high knowledge and positive attitudes toward patients with epilepsy. This encouraging approach and confidence among dentists may positively influence patients with epilepsy to seek dental care.