| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2023 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-7 |
|
|
Oral health status and treatment needs in primary school children of Kochi: A Mixed Indian urban population setting survey
MM Dempsy Chengappa1, Akshai Kannan2, Rahul Koul3
1 Department of Dentistry, INHS Sanjivani, Kochi, Kerala, India
2 INDC Danteshwari, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
3 Department of Dentistry, Field Hospital, Imphal, Manipur, India
Correspondence Address:
M M Dempsy Chengappa
INHS Sanjivani, Naval Base, Willingdon Island, Kochi - 682 004, Kerala
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jorr.jorr_61_21
|
|
|
Background: Oral health has a multifaceted nature as it encompasses a person's ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow, and convey a range of emotions through facial expressions with confidence and without pain, discomfort, and disease of the craniofacial complex. Oral health paves way for good general health and essential well-being.
Aim: The present study was undertaken to determine the oral health status and treatment needs of school-going children aged 6–10 years of attending government schools in Kochi, Kerala, India.
Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study that included screening for dental caries, enamel fluorosis, dental trauma, malocclusion, and treatment needs of 533 primary government school-going children of Willingdon Island, Kochi. Children were assessed as per the World Health Organization Oral Health Assessment Form for Children given in the year 2013. A stratified random sampling method was followed. The means and percentages were calculated, and comparison was done using ANOVA, Chi-square test, and Student's t-test to find the difference in proportion. All values were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05.
Results: The dentition status of the surveyed children revealed a prevalence of dental caries in the study was found to be 50.09% (267). A significant difference was observed between different class students concerning mean DMFT scores (F = 8.5660, P < 0.05). The survey also revealed that the prevalence of enamel fluorosis, traumatic dental injuries, and malocclusion was found to be 3.38%, 1.69%, and 2.63%, respectively. Treatment needs status among students revealed that 85 students needed a preventive or routine treatment and a minimum of two students needed immediate (urgent) treatment who were referred to a dental hospital and 9.76% of students needed Orthodontic intervention.
Conclusion: The high prevalence rate shows that further follow-up and awareness among the teachers, parents, and students regarding dental caries, oral health, and dental hygiene is needed. Further, studies of similar nature on a larger sample are required to correlate the prevalence of dental caries in the target population with other socio-behavioral factors.
|
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
