Oral health knowledge and attitude among caregivers of special needs patients at a Comprehensive Rehabilitation Centre: an analytical study.

Aim: To evaluate knowledge and attitude of caregivers/healthcare workers regarding oral health of special need patients, at a comprehensive rehabilitation centre.

Material and methods: A validated self-administered structured questionnaire was used in an interview style among 120 caregivers at a comprehensive rehabilitation centre. The first part of questionnaire collected demographic information (age, gender, experience, literacy). The other part of the questionnaire was related to the knowledge and attitude of caregivers regarding importance of oral health including oral hygiene practices, cause of tooth decay, significance of fluoride, common oral problems and need for oral health education. Comparison between oral health knowledge and oral health attitude of caregivers was done using one-sample t Test. The level of significance was set as p=0.005*.

Results: Adequate oral health knowledge was found to be among 59.2% and favourable attitude of caregivers towards oral health care was found among 48.3%. The results indicate that though majority among caregivers had adequate knowledge but their attitude towards oral health was inadequate.

Conclusion: Caregivers showed a deficiency in the proper oral health attitude. To improve oral health attitudes of caregivers, dental education plus training programs should be given high priority.