Assessment of oral health practices of school teachers in Dharamshala City, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Background The study aimed to assess the oral health practices of school teachers in Dharamshala city, Himachal Pradesh. Materials and methods The sampling used was probability stratified random sampling. The data was collected by interview recorded on a structured proforma adapted from previous study. Results All the teachers (100%) brushed their teeth with tooth brush and tooth paste. There were 535 (66.9%) teachers, brushing their teeth twice daily and 260 (32.5%) teachers brushing once daily. The frequencies of changing tooth brush within 3 months were higher in female (71.7%) as compared to males (60.6%) and the difference was statistically significant. This was higher among private school teachers (57.8%) than government school teachers (42.1%). Majority in the study reported that they did not use any form of smoked and smokeless tobacco in the present or past. Conclusion The study reported a moderate oral health practices in the teachers and the main reason for visit to the dentist was dental caries which clearly indicates the adequate awareness about early intervention of dental diseases. Further, efforts should be encouraged to educate teachers about modern preventive dentistry for translation of oral health promotion among school children. Continued dental education and teachers training programmes still remains the best way to impart scientific oral health knowledge to teachers to improve their oral health practices and reduce the burden of oral diseases.