TY - JOUR A1 - Agali, R A1 - Reddy, C.V.K. T1 - A study to assess the oral health status and treatment needs and distribution of dental manpower in Mysore District - A situation analysis Y1 - 2008/1/1 JF - Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry JO - J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent SP - 1 EP - 9 VL - 6 IS - 11 UR - https://journals.lww.com/aphd/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2008;volume=6;issue=11;spage=1;epage=9;aulast=Agali N2 - Background: Evaluation of existing oral health services shows that it is predominantly urban oriented, most curative in nature and it is accessible mainly to small part of population i.e., privileged few. Dental diseases are more prevalent in rural populations than urban populations and urban populations have more dental visits than rural populations. Availability and utilization of dental health services by the public will vary according to the availability, accessibility and acceptability of the services. In addition attributes of the population such as its educational system and economic status will affect utilization. Objectives: (i) To assess the oral health status and treatment needs and distribution of dental manpower in Mysore district (ii) To suggest appropriate measures to improve the dental health care delivery system Methods: A total of 600 subjects in urban area i.e., Mysore city and 600 subjects in rural areas i.e, T.Narsipur and Nanjangud were examined by stratified random sample method. Data were recorded using modified WHO proforma (1997). Data was analyzed using SPSS for windows (Evaluation version) Results: The Dental caries experience was more in urban population (55.5%) than rural population (44.5%). The prevalence of periodontal disease was more rural population (85.8%) than the urban population (54.2%), which could be attributed more of adverse habits and less oral hygiene practices among rural population. Assessment of treatment needs revealed that higher proportion of rural population required dental treatment, which mainly included extractions, pulp therapy, oral prophylaxis and prosthetic rehabilitation when compared to urban population. The dental visits among urban population was 21.8% and among rural population was 15.7%. Interpretation and Conclusion: Oral health status of rural population is relatively poor compared to that of urban population. Though the dental caries experience is more in urban population (55.5%) than rural population (44.5%), the unmet treatment needs for dental caries is more in rural population. The prevalence of periodontal disease was more rural population (85.8%) than the urban population (54.2%), which could be attributed more of adverse habits and less oral hygiene practices among rural population. The dental visits among urban population was 21.8% and among rural population was 15.7%, which indicates that the dental visits were poor in both urban and rural areas. ER -