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- Title
Oral hygiene measures among elderly people in the destitute homes in Chennai - A survey.
- Authors
Kuma, M. Ashwin Shravan; Kirubagaran, Sangeetha; Dhanraj, M.
- Abstract
Aim: The aim of this study is to survey the awareness of oral hygiene knowledge and practices among the elder people in destitute homes in Chennai. Background: Health auxiliary personnel has an important role in oral health. Oral health touches every aspect of our lives but is often taken for granted. Our mouth is a window into the health of our body. It can show signs of nutritional deficiencies or general infection. Systemic diseases, those that affect the entire body, may first become apparent due to mouth lesions or other oral problems. This is more common in older adults. Materials and Methods: This study consists of 50 people under the age group of 5th and 6th decades around the Porur region of Chennai. This is a questionnairebased study conducted in the online forum, using SurveyPlanet app. 10 self-made questionnaires were prepared to access the knowledge, attitude, and practice of oral hygiene. The patients were explained the purpose of study and results were computerized and analyzed. Results: Nearly 54% of patients were not aware of teeth cleansing procedures in dental clinic setup. Even though 56% of patients are aware that dental hygiene is important for overall hygiene, only 50% of the patients take the effort to maintain oral hygiene and 40% of patients are not aware about oral hygiene necessity in maintaining overall hygiene. 70% of patients feel that bad breath is an indicator of poor oral hygiene and 30% of patients are not aware of it. 32% patients reported that they never visit the dentist, 22% of patients report rarely, and 14% of the patients visit in a 6-month interval. Conclusion: This survey evidently proves that elderly people maintain poor oral hygiene. The old people are not much concerned with their oral health as far as other ailments, whereas they show poor oral hygiene as bad breath. Frequent visit to a dentist is also not appreciated by the participants.
- Subjects
ORAL hygiene; DENTAL hygiene; DENTAL caries; PERIODONTAL disease; DENTAL plaque
- Publication
Drug Invention Today, 2019, Vol 11, Issue 2, p278
- ISSN
0975-7619
- Publication type
Article