Assessment of Oral Health and Hygiene Practices among Students of High School, Hooghly District, West Bengal

Abstract

Context: Oral health is a key indicator of overall health, well-being, and quality of life of an individual. India has an alarming population with oro-dental problems. Dental caries and poor oral hygiene constitute more than 50% of major public oral-health problem, among children and adolescents. Aim: Aim was to assess the status of oral health and oral hygiene practices among high school students of Hooghly district and find out the factors associated with bad oral health. Settings and design: Institution-based observational study with cross-sectional design was conducted from July to September 2019 among students of seventh, eighth, and ninth grades of two schools of Hooghly district in West Bengal. Materials and methods: Using complete enumeration method, out of 288 students enrolled, 194 students were examined. Students filled a self-administered, predesigned, pretested questionnaire following which oral health was examined. Statistical analysis: Oral health and hygiene practices were separately scored and the bivariate and multivariable analysis was done using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Half, 86% of the students had self-reported unsatisfactory oral hygiene practice and 55.6% students had poor oral health. Males had better oral health and practice scores than females. Female gender 2.22 [1.01–4.89] and Muslim religion 2.55 [1.18–5.53] were significantly associated with bad oral health in the final multivariable model. Conclusion: Awareness and early start of good oral hygienic practice in childhood can prevent most of the oral diseases. This can pave the way for uptake of timely interventions before any complications set in. Thus, there is a need to inculcate effective Information Education and Communication (IEC) interventions early in childhood to promote good oral health.