Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude of Medical Students on Oral Hygiene
Mabithashri Department of Physiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical science,
Saveetha University, Chennai- 600077.
Email id:[email protected]
JothiPriya
Department of Physiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai - 600077.
Email id - [email protected] Ph no – 8778996993
Gayathri Devi Department of Physiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals,
Saveetha Institute of medical and technical sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai- 600077.
Email id: [email protected]
LakshminarayananArivarasu
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai - 600077.
Email id – [email protected] Ph no - +-91-9176781718
Corresponding author LakshminarayananArivarasu
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals,
Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai - 600077.
Email id – [email protected] Ph no - +-91-9176781718
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Oral hygiene is a practice of keeping one’s mouth clean and free of disease and other problems.
By regular cleaning oral health can be maintained. It is important to carry out oral hygiene on a regular basis to prevent dental caries. Usage of floss, mouthwash, etc can be followed for better oral hygiene. Students should be given proper education about the dental care that they can follow on a regular basis to have good oral hygiene.The aim of the survey is to assess the knowledge, awareness and attitude among medical students on oral hygiene
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
A questionnaire consisting of 10 questions were framed based on the knowledge, awareness and attitude on oral hygiene in an online survey monkey app. The link was sent to all medical students. The questions were carefully studied and corresponding answers were marked by 100 students. At the end of the survey all the data were compiled for statistical analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:
In ( Figure 5) 95.45% of the medical students think that mouthwash can reduce bad breath and the remaining 4.55% of them think that mouthwash cannot reduce bad breath. In ( Figure 6) 46.59% of the participants have the habit of using dental floss and the remaining 53.41% do not use dental floss. In a similar study conducted by (chhabra) 41.3% brushed their teeth once a day,10.5% of them brushed twice a day and 1.3% of them brushed more than twice daily.
CONCLUSION
Most of the medical students answered the questions correctly that mouthwash can reduce bad breath.
KEYWORDS: dental floss; oral hygiene; knowledge; awareness and attitude
INTRODUCTION
Oral hygiene is a routine of keeping the mouth clean and healthy without any problems like gingivitis, cavities and bad breath(1). Oral health is a component of general health and it is a factor that should be given importance to improve the health of an individual. Majority of the population did not have access to oral health services and they aimed at treatment of oral diseases and were not concerned about prevention (2).Dental caries and Periodontal disease are the two common diseases, prevention of these diseases can be achieved by maintaining good oral hygiene. Use of dental floss and toothbrush can prevent these diseases(3). Though tooth brush and tooth paste are commonly used tools to maintain good oral hygiene there are many other products suggested by the dentist (4). Chemotherapeutic supplements with the help of dentifrice, mouth rinses, gels and chewing gums can also prevent oral diseases (5). On the other hand, herbs
role in oral health care(8) .so the present study aims to assess the knowledge,awareness and attitude among medical students on oral hygiene.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A questionnaire consisting of 10 questions were framed based on the knowledge,awareness and attitude on oral hygiene in an online survey monkey app. The link was sent to all medical students. The questions were carefully studied and corresponding answers were marked by 100 students. At the end of the survey all the data were compiled for statistical analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In (Figure 1) 44.32% of the participants brush their teeth once in a day and 55.68% of them brush their teeth twice a day. In (Figure 2) 14.77% of the participants have answered that they brush their teeth in back and forth motion, 17.05% have responded that they brush their teeth in up and downward motion and 68.18% have answered correctly that they brush their teeth in circular motion. In (Figure 3) 62.50% use mouthwash after brushing and the remaining 37.50 % do not have the habit of using mouthwash after brushing. In (Figure 4) 86.36% feel that mouthwash can reduce inflammation of gums and 13.64% of them feel that mouthwash cannot reduce inflammation. In ( Figure 5) 95.45% of the medical students think that mouthwash can reduce bad breath and the remaining 4.55% of them think that mouthwash cannot reduce bad breath. In ( Figure 6) 46.59% of the participants have the habit of using dental floss and the remaining 53.41% do not use dental floss. In ( Figure 7) 95.45% of the medical students were aware that saltwater goggling can reduce inflammation of gums and the remaining 4.55% of them were aware that saltwater goggling can reduce inflammation of gums. In ( Figure 8) 43.18% of them have answered that their toothpaste contains fluoride and 46.59% of them have answered that their toothpaste does not contain fluoride and the remaining 10.23% medical students answered that they do not check. In ( Figure 9) 75% have responded that fluoride in toothpaste can reduce dental caries, 25% have answered that fluoride cannot reduce dental caries.
From the study conducted by(9) (harish Kumar) 94% dental and 99.33% medical used toothbrush and toothpaste to clean their teeth. In a similar study conducted by (chhabra) 41.3%
brushed their teeth once a day,10.5% of them brushed twice a day and 1.3% of them brushed more than twice daily(10). 30.1% of the participants have answered that fluoride prevents tooth decay, 25.2% responded that it does not prevent tooth decay and 10.3% have answered that they were not sure about it. 80% of the participants brushed their teeth with a toothbrush in the study conducted by (Abullahkhamaiseh)(11). But in the study conducted by(lyng Zhu) only 17% used fluoridated toothpaste(12)
. Figure.1 Frequency of brushing
Figure.2 Method of brushing
Figure.4 Mouthwash can reduce inflammation of gums
Figure.5 mouthwash can reduce bad breath
Figure.6 use of dental floss
Figure.7 saltwater goggling reduce inflammation of gums
Figure.8 fluoride in toothpaste
Figure.9 fluoride in toothpaste reduce dental caries CONCLUSION
From the above data it is clear that even though most of the medical students are aware of oral hygiene, some students are not aware of oral care, so these students require adequate training of good oral hygiene and are encouraged to participate in dental education programs.
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