Assessment of Oral Hygiene Knowledge, Practices & Attitude towards the Professional Dental Care Among Narikuravar Children in Tirunelveli District, Tamilnadu-A Cross Sectional Study with a Psychology Approach

Abstract

Background: Evaluation of oral fitness repute in several tribal communities is continually a tough mission attributed to the conduct, customs, and beliefs prevailing throughout the indigenous population. Compromised oral health reputation amongst those businesses in large part impacts general individual health, health service usage, and high-quality lifestyles. The present study was aimed at understanding the present-day nation of oral health and assessing the understanding and attitude towards oral hygiene practices of many of the kids of the Narikuravar tribal inhabitants

Materials and Method: A cross-sectional questionnaire- primarily grounded check was done to assess the knowledge and attitude towards oral health status and professional dental care practices amongst kiddies of the Narikuravar population in the abecedarian areas of the main study population at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. The rankings have been calculated and grounded completely on the responses of the bystander actors.

Results: In the present study only 22.5% children brush their teeth twice a day while about 70% preferred to brush only once in the morning using tooth paste and brush (62.5%) to clean their teeth. Majority of the children (92.5%) were not familiar with brushing techniques, role of dental plaque in bleeding gums and complications associated with dental caries despite 80% were reported without any caries. On Assessment of their attitude towards Professional Dental Care, it was observed that 75% had never visited the dentist with the major reason being that they lack experience of tooth pain while 15% of them reported fear associated with their dental visit and 15% of them experienced little dental pain during their first visit.

Conclusion: The present study clearly shows lack of awareness and insufficient understanding towards oral health concerns and oral hygiene practices despite one-third had utilized the services of professional dental care in the past. This emphasizes the need for dental health educators and dental professionals to conduct dental camps, organize more aggressive propaganda and health programs to educate and raise awareness among the children of Narikuravar tribal inhabitants about their oral health to improve the overall quality of life.

Keywords: Attitude, Dental Caries, Dental Plaque, Health Promotion, Narikuravar, Tribal Oral Health