Oral health practices and awareness among patients attending the department of periodontics at J.K.K.N dental college and hospital, Komarapalayam

• Published in: International journal of clinical dental science 2014-03, Vol.5 (1)
• Main Authors: Thangavelu, Arthiie, Elavarasu, Sugumari, Jayashakthi Saravanan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2229-7790; 2229-7804

Aims & objectives: Oral health is considered to be less important than general health in India. The awareness and knowledge about oral hygiene practices is poor among the public and it is neglected by them. This lack in knowledge about the oral hygiene may lead to oral diseases mainly periodontitis. Smoking and alcohol has an ill-effect on both oral and general health and the patients are not aware of the ill-effects smoking. So our aim was to create an awareness about the oral hygiene practices among the patients attending the department of periodontics at J.K.K.N dental college and hospital, Komarapalayam.Materials and methods: 450 patients were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A self?constructed 17?item close?ended questionnaire was distributed to all subjects above 18 years. The results were analysed using percentage.Results: The result showed a fair knowledge about the oral hygiene practices and awareness about the ill-effects of smoking and alcohol among the people in Komarapalayam.Conclusion: We conclude that there is a need for motivating and educating the patients about the oral hygiene practices to prevent the oral diseases especially periodontitis.