Oral health beahviour of the endangered toto tribe of North Bengal

Abstract

Introduction: The Toto tribe is a small tribal population who inhabit a tiny hamlet on the northern fringe of the state of West Bengal and is on the verge of extinction. They have their unique oral health behaviour and oral hygiene habits. Aims and Objectives: To study their unique oral health behaviours and traditional oral hygiene habits untouched by civilization. Material and Methods: A sum total of 515 adult Toto Populations were participated and observed for their oral health behaviour by means of door to door survey and OHI-S was recorded. Results: The prevalence of deleterious oral habits was found to be very high among this population with only 4.1% abstaining from any kind of oral habits. The most popular habit among this population was the chewing of betel nut(91.6%). Discussion: The study showed a unique blend of unchanged tribal habits and that of the practises and oral heath behaviour of primitive tribe.