Oral Health Status and Treatment Needs among School Children of Urban, Rural and Tribal Communities in Mahabubnagar District, Telangana. A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background:Oral health is an essential component of overall health and well-being. It affects general health, quality of life, including self-esteem, learning, employment, ability to masticate speak, and other routine activities in a child.Aim:The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status and treatment needs among children of urban, rural, and tribal communities in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana state.Materials and Methods:A descriptive study was conducted among 2144 urban, rural, and tribal children residing in Mahabubnagar district. Multi-stage simple random sampling was done to obtain the sample size. An intra-oral examination was performed by a single calibrated examiner to assess the Oral health status using WHO, proforma 1997.Statistical Analysis:Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 16 (IBM, India); Pearson Chi-square test was performed to compare qualitative data and to find the statistical significance. Chi-square and Kruskal wallis test was used where applicable when comparing dental caries severity among study population based on age,sex and region. The level of statistical significance was set atP< 0.005.Results:The prevalence dental caries in urban, rural, and tribal regions was found to be 73.12%, 72.47%, and 78.46%, respectively, with an overall prevalence of dental caries 74.76%. ThePvalue came out to be 0.016 (<0.05) which was statistically significant indicating the differed prevalence of dental caries location wise.Conclusion:The present study showed that the dental caries was more in rural areas followed by urban and tribal areas. The prevalence of dental caries was 74.76% and the treatment needs was 42%.