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Oral health knowledge, behaviour and status among nursing students of Davanagere City, Karnataka
B Naveen Kumar1, N Ramesh2, TL Ravi Shanker3
1 Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Dentistry, St. Joseph Dental College, Duggirala, Elluru, West Godavari, Andhra, India
2 Professor and Head, Dept. of Community Dentistry, Pacific Dental College, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
3 Reader, Dept. of Community Dentistry, Kothiwal Dental College, Moradabad, U.P., India
Correspondence Address:
B Naveen Kumar
Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Dentistry, St. Joseph Dental College, Duggirala, Elluru, West Godavari, Andhra
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
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The oral health awareness and status of nursing students were studied in Davanagare city. 150 subjectsunderwent two components of assessment: questionnaire assessing oral health knowledge and behaviour,and clinical examination for oral health status. Indices used are Plaque index, Community PeriodontalIndex of treatment needs (CPITN) and Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth index (DMFT). More than 70% ofthe subjects were reported to brush their teeth once daily and very few used supplemental cleaning tools.They also knew the importance of healthy oral condition, the various causes and prevention of tooth decayand gum diseases. Although majority (81.9%) visited the dentist only when they feel it is necessary to doso. Clinical examination showed mean scores of 1.22 forplaque index; Code 2 of the CPITN Index wasthe highest (70.3%) among the subjects. The total mean DMFT was 1.92, and the decayed componentwas the highest (D=158 teeth). These findings suggest that the subjects have acceptable oral healthawareness, and also reasonable existing oral health status. |
