ORAL HEALTH;

EXTENT OF AWARENESS AMONG PATIENTS VISITING ISLAMIC INTERNATIONAL DENTAL HOSPITAL

Abstract

Introduction: It has been now established beyond doubt that dental diseases are
the most common cause of human suffering. It is due to the impact of these diseases and human
suffering that World Health Organization has included Oral Health as one of the indicators for
health of individual. The National Oral Health survey clearly indicates that oral diseases burden
the people of Pakistan and there is lack of perception of needs or absence of tooth ache that
causes a delay in seeking dental treatment. The survey also shows that preventive services are
rare and there is lack of oral health education , preventive practices and lack of dental health
promotional programs in Pakistan. There is no study at national level to reflect the extent of
awareness regarding oral health in population. The present study was conducted with the
objective of evaluating the extent of knowledge regarding oral health among patients visiting
Islamic International Dental Hospital (IIDH). Materials and Methods: 200 patients visiting IIDH
were randomly selected in this cross sectional study that was conducted from May to July 2013.
Out of these 80 were male and 120 were female. The age range of patients was from 15 to 60
years. None of the patient had any psychological or motor dysfunction which could inhibit the
perception and performance of oral hygiene measures. All the patients were educated and
ensured of anonymity. A multiple choice questionnaire was designed and distributed among
participants. The questionnaire included 13 questions with different responses and
predetermined answers. The data thus collected was compiled, analyzed using SPSS version 17
and interpreted. In order to summarize the awareness level, responses were scored from 0-13
based on the number of correct responses. The extent of awareness was graded on a three scale
parameter which was poor, fair and good. Results were expressed in terms of percentage.
Results: The results showed that only 4% of the patients scored good while 43%% and 53%
scored fair and poor awareness respectively. Conclusions: The study concluded that the level of
awareness regarding oral health is limited among patients visiting IIDH.