ORAL HEALTH HYGIENE BEHAVIOR RELATE TO PRACTICES OF ORAL HEALTH: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Oral health conditions i.e. dental caries and periodontal conditions are the leading oral ill-health conditions. To focus only on the curative and/or surgical aspects is not sufficient to reduce the oral health burden globally. The gap in oral health behavior is one of the prime reasons for the intricate oral health burden. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate self reported practices toward oral health behavior among the adults of North Gujarat. METHODS: The study was cross-sectional observational and conducted in the region of North Gujarat. A total of 150 adults were included in this study. A questionnaire that was predesigned and pretested was used to achieve the objective of the study. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24.2 was used by the researcher to analyze data. RESULTS: in all adults who participated, the highest desirable practice was the usage of toothbrushes and toothpaste among 75.3% of adults, whereas the lowest was the scaling frequency which was 8% among the adults. The practice of Brush changing pattern, bristles of the brush, gargling with plain water, mouth wash usage, the direction of brushing, and the previous dentist visit was limited among the adults. The study found the socio-demographic variables as the predictors of oral health behavior. CONCLUSION: the result highlights limited oral health behavior among adults. Desirable oral health habits and awareness of oral health need to be addressed. Coordination of efforts throughout healthcare along with proper social network reformation can play a significant role to uplift oral health behavior within the community.