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Year : 2007 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 9 | Page : 7-12 |
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Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHQoL) - Views of First Grade College Students of Davangere, India
Manish Kumar1, GN Chandu2, Md Shafiulla3
1 Department of Community Dentistry, Late Sir Yashwant Rao Chavan Medical and Rural Development Foundation, Dental College, P. B No. 02, SAVDI, Near Nagpur Bridge, Vadgaon Gupta, Ahmednagar - 414 003, Maharastra, India 2 Department of Community Dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Davangere - 577 004, Karnataka, India 3 Department of Community Dentistry, Vishnu Dental College and Hospital, Bhimavaram - 534 202, Andrapradesh, India
Correspondence Address:
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
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Objective: To assess the effect and impact of oral health on quality of life among first grade college students of Davangere, India.
Methods: The oral health related quality of life (OHQoL) questionnaire consisting of a battery of questions, which takes into account both effect and impact of oral health on quality of life, incorporating dimensions and an individualized weighting system, was administered to a sample of 600 first Grade college students, aged between 18-23 yrs of Davangere, India. Gender variations on the responses of their effect and impact on OHQoL (P) was analyzed using Chi-square test.
Results: The overall response rate was 88% with 529 students participating in the study. 65.6% of the sample believed that their oral health enhanced their quality of life (QoL) and 10.2% believed that their oral health reduced their QoL. This was perceived as a result of its effect on all physical, social and psychological ways. A majority of the sample considered little (22.7%), moderate (22.3%), great (20.1%) and extreme (10.8%) impact of oral health in all physical, social and psychological ways. Females claimed that their oral health had a greater positive effect on QoL than did males and was seen mostly among physical and social aspects.
Conclusion : To conclude, the study shows that the ftrst grade college students of Davangere, India perceive oral health as affecting their QoL and also has an impact on QoL in a variety of physical, social and psychological ways and that significant gender variations exist in these perceptions. |
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