Psychosocial impact of partial or complete edentulism due to periodontal diseases among rural population of Tumkur district of Karnataka

Introduction: Periodontal diseases are one of the most prevalent oral diseases affecting more than 50% of Indian population. Untreated periodontitis is a major cause of tooth loss. In rural population of Tumkur (Karnataka), people live in closely knit large joint families. Partial edentulism at early age could affect marriages, performance at work, criticism from friends and family members and embarrassment at social gatherings. Objective: We started a cross-sectional study, for assessing the awareness about periodontal diseases and the psychosocial consequences of tooth loss due to periodontal diseases in rural population who visited Sri Siddhartha Dental College. Methodology: The study involved completion of a predesigned structured questionnaire formatted according psycho-social structure of Indian traditions and culture. It included multiple option questions to be filled up by patients. We screened 799 patients in 18-65 age groups. Results: The awareness about aggressive periodontitis was less, overall awareness was higher. 88% patients felt; they would have prevented the disease if there was access to economical dental care. 68% patients rated their oral health as bad, 59% did not want to marry partially edentulous person. 83% experienced criticism, 72% felt lower level of confidence and 77% felt quality of life being affected due to partial edentulism. Conclusion: Partial edentulism due to periodontal disease, especially in young patients, has high psychosocial impact on quality of life. Due to limited replacement options in these poor patients, prevention would give higher quality of life. *Correspondence to: Vaibhavi Joshipura, Intedent Healthcare Private Limited, India, Tel: 9880105198; E-mail: vaibhavi_joshipura@yahoo.co.in