Background: Oral health is an integral part of general health. It is an essential component of health throughout the life of an individual. Certain systemic diseases can manifest in the oral cavity. Majority of the population approach medical practitioners for their oral health problems at primary health center level. Hence, general practitioners should have adequate knowledge about oral health and also they should play an active role in oral health promotion. Aim: The aim was to assess oral health awareness among undergraduate medical students in Davangere city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-structured, pre-tested, closed-ended questionnaire consisting of 25 questions with options on Likert scale. All the undergraduate students of JJM Medical college and SS Medical colleges were included for the survey. Questions were related to oral health problems and their relation with general health. The data was collected, compiled, and analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: Only 25% of the undergraduate students were found to have good oral health awareness, 38% were found to have fair and 37% were found to have poor oral health awareness. Final year undergraduate medical students were found to have better oral health awareness (40%), when compared to second (13%) and third year students (23%) (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Oral health awareness among undergraduate medical students was found to be poor. Final year undergraduate students were found to have better oral health awareness.

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Purpose: This cross-sectional study assessed smoking-related behaviors, experiences, beliefs, knowledge, and prevalence among a sample of college going students. It helped to inform them about the different nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) available for the cessation of the habit. Materials and Methods: After gaining informed consent, 500 college going students (18-25 years age group) of Swami Devi Dyal Group of Colleges, who are smokers and also willing to participate in the study were surveyed regarding their awareness about and prevalence of ill effects of smoking. The survey was conducted by employing a uniform questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed about the tobacco use, no of cigarettes they smokes every day, what form of smoking do they prefer, early smoking experiences and sensations, factors that might motivate a quit attempt, ill effects of smoking on oral health, other psychosocial variables associated with adolescent smoking and about the different NRTs available. The feedback hence obtained was condensed in the form of objective results, which were analyzed to arrive at meaningful conclusions. Results and Conclusion: According to the study as many as about 90% of the students have reasonably good chances of succeeding in quitting smoking. However, the overwhelming majority (96%) had no idea about different NRTs. This shows a stark lack of awareness as to the means that can help them quit the habit. Thus, we get a clear vision as to the direction of our efforts and feel optimistic as to the outcome too.

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Aim: To assess the prevalence of oral precancerous lesions and conditions and to determine the potential risk factors associated among general population aged 20-70 years of Telangana region, Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: An oral screening campaign was organized with the help of local general dental practitioners in each district. All the relevant information regarding the subject was documented and clinical examination of the oral soft tissues was carried out. Clinically diagnosed as precancerous lesion or condition were subjected to punch (incisional biopsy) biopsy and evaluated histopathologically to confirm the diagnosis. Results: Among 1200 screened, 150 subjects were chewers and 136 subjects were smokers with 29 chewers and 16 smokers had precancerous lesions and conditions. An overall prevalence of oral precancerous lesions and conditions were found to be 4.2% (males 5.5%; females 2.5%). Leukoplakia was seen in 0.8%, Oral submucous fibrosis in 1.3% and lichen planus in 2% of the study population. Conclusions: The prevalence of precancerous lesions and conditions in our study is higher when compared with the reports from different parts of the country and in South East Asia. These lesions can be prevented from malignant transformation by mass screening, close monitoring, early detection, appropriate treatment plan and prognosis.

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Objectives: The aim was to develop and psychometrically test a visual analog scale (VAS) for dental fluorosis. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, esthetic perceptions of varying severities of fluorosis in permanent maxillary incisor teeth presented in 36 photographs were graded on a 10 cm VAS by two groups - an expert panel of dental specialists and lay group comprising 1 ^st year dental students. The photographs were also graded using Thylstrup-Fejerskov index (TFI). Inter and intra-examiner reliability testing and comparison of specialists' and 1 ^st year students' perceptions were made using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Mean VAS values were validated against TFI scores using Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: A VAS for dental fluorosis was constructed with the help of mean values of subjective ratings for each of the photographs. Inter-rater reliability was found to be moderate (ICC = 0.59). The intra-rater reliability for both the lay group (ICC range: 0.91-0.98) and dental specialists' group (ICC range: 0.87-0.98) was found to be excellent. High correlation was obtained between lay group's and dental specialists' perception of fluorosis on VAS (r = 0.93). VAS scores correlated moderately with TFI scores for the photographs (Spearman's ρ = 0.725). All the findings were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The developed VAS was found to be a valid and reliable tool to assess dental fluorosis. Validation of the scale on a larger sample from the general population is recommended before it is applied in clinical and epidemiological settings.

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Aim: The aim was to assess the prevalence of enamel hypoplasia and its correlation with dental caries in 12 and 15 years old school children in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 1011 school children aged ranging between 12 and 15 years old in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh, India. A modified developmental defects of enamel index was used to classify the enamel defects. The statistical tests used was Chi-square tests. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of enamel opacities was 18.2%. At 12 years of age, the prevalence was 17.9%, whereas at 15 years it was 18.6%. The tooth prevalence of enamel opacities of the entire sample was 11.8%. At 12 years tooth prevalence was 10.9% and at 15 years it was 12.7%. There was a significantly higher prevalence of Enamel hypoplasia among males at both the age groups. The diffuse type of enamel opacity was the most commonly seen at both the age groups. A significant association was found between caries and enamel opacities (P < 0.01). The occurrence of enamel opacities was statistically higher in children with the youngest mothers. Conclusions: The prevalence of enamel defects in this study is low when compared to National prevalence (22.3% at 12 years and 23.2% at 15 years). This study revealed a significant association between enamel defects and dental caries.

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Introduction: Oral health is an integral component of general health and is essential for well-being. India is one of the most populated countries in the world and majority of them resides in rural areas. Moradabad is one of the oldest cities of Uttar Pradesh with diverse culture and beliefs. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the periodontal health status of the rural Moradabad population. Materials and Methods: A representative transversal study on 550 adults aged 20-49 years of rural Moradabad was conducted from February 2011 to June 2011. The survey was carried out using a self-designed questionnaire. Periodontal health was assessed using WHO criteria (1997). Results: Overall the prevalence of periodontal diseases among study subjects was overall 91.6%. Males had a higher prevalence of periodontal disease (93.8%) as compared to females (89.5%). Out of total subjects 37.8% had Community Periodontal Index (CPI) score 4 and 32.5% had score 3. About 7.3% of subjects had loss of attachment (LOA) with 20.2% of them having LOA score 1. Statistically, there was a significant difference (P < 0.001) among the number of subjects having different CPI and LOA scores. In a multivariate binary logistic model with age > 35 years, smoking, tobacco chewing (independent risk factors) were significantly associated with CPI > 2 (dependent variable) (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The current periodontal health status of rural adult population of Moradabad city can be attributed to low literacy along with socio economic status and oral habits. To improve the periodontal health status of the rural population of Moradabad, it is suggested that a community-based approach can be designed.

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Background: Mass media has been an important source of health information to the general public. Especially, newspapers have the advantage of providing a variety of information to a broad range of age groups, with wide regional coverage, both in urban and rural areas. Aim and Objective: The aim was to assess the quantity and quality of oral health information in leading 5 English newspapers published in Bangalore city, Karnataka. Materials and Methods: An electronic survey was conducted using archives of five electronic English newspapers published in 2012-2008. Oral health content was retrieved from these newspapers with appropriate key words. A specially designed scale was used to evaluate the information published in these newspapers. Level score index was used for the overall qualitative analysis of all information. In this regard, descriptive statistics was computed. Results: The articles published in 5 years were 266. In which 25.9% articles were on dental caries, 27.8% with periodontal diseases, 40.6% with oral cancer, 2.3% with malocclusion, and 4.5% with fluorosis. The accurate quality of oral health information in these newspapers provided about 14.7%, whereas only 4.5% of the articles provided the take home message. Conclusions: Articles on oral health lacked accuracy and infrequently published. To fill up this gap Public health dentists should effectively utilize these newspapers to educate the people on oral health.

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Introduction: Oral health care professionals (OHPs) are population with a high risk of infections, as they are exposed to an array of microorganisms in saliva and other body fluids during treatment. The aerosolized oral fluids during treatment may form a potent pool of infection. Objective: The objective was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about airborne infection and their precaution among OHPs in Davangere, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in two dental teaching institutions of Davangere. The questionnaire contained questions related to KAP on airborne infection, its spread, and precaution. All the scores were summed and reported on a scale of 0-9 for knowledge, 0-4 for attitude and practice questions were scored on a 5-point Likert-Scale. Result: A response rate of 95.27% was observed. All the respondents knew that the infection was spread through aerosols during treatment. There was a significant improvement in KAP as the years in clinical practice increased. There was a linear correlation between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.171, P < 0.001), and knowledge and practice scores (r = 0.142, P < 0.00l) when all groups (dental faculty, postgraduate, and students) were combined, but there was no correlation between attitude and practice scores of individuals. Conclusion: This study reflects an increased knowledge and practice as the professionals move higher in the hierarchy. But there exists some disparity between the isolation precautions followed by the respondents of the current study and those from the recommended guidelines.

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Introduction: Studies in different countries, demonstrated high caries prevalence, poor gingival health, poor motivation and oral hygiene practices with substance abusers. The substances may be natural or synthetic, the use of which has a psychoactive effect and alters or modifies the functions of a living organism. Aim: To assess the oral health status and treatment needs of substance abusers attending de-addiction centers in Bangalore. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 426 substance abusers admitted in the wards who were randomly selected from 5 selected de-addiction centers from April 2009 to September 2009. The study population consisted of four groups namely alcohol, nicotine, alcohol + nicotine and other drugs group from the selected de-addiction centers. The oral health status of the patients was determined based on the WHO proforma1997. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Chi-square test and ANOVA tests were applied. Results: The study population consisted of 426 male subjects in the age group of 16-65 years old with an average of 36.35 years. Alcohol + nicotine group had significantly more temporomandibular joint clicking than other groups (P < 0.05). Ninety-Six oral mucosal lesions were found in the study. Alcohol group had significantly higher mean CPI code 3 (pockets 4-5 mm) than the other groups (P < 0.05). The prevalence of decayed, missing, filled teeth in the study population was 83.33%. The mean DMFT of the study population is 4.15 ± 3.74 standard deviation. The mean DMFT of the Alcohol group was significantly higher than the other combinations group (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The oral health status of substance abusers was poor. There were a large number of oral mucosal lesions noted in them. The dental caries status and periodontal status was the worst in the alcohol group.

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Objectives: The aim was to find the cleaning ability of the toothbrush with or without the use of dentifrice in removal of debris and plaque in hostel inmates aged 20-24 years. Materials and Methods: A randomized clinical trial was carried out on 30 undergraduate students of K.D. Dental College and Hospital. The debris and plaque scores were recorded using debris index-simplified and plaque index respectively. The subjects were divided into three groups. After recording the baseline scores, the study groups were instructed to follow the modified bass method for the period of 10 days and then follow-up scores were recorded. Paired 't'- test and one-way ANOVA test was used to compare the mean baseline and mean follow-up scores. Results: The difference in mean debris scores at baseline and follow-up for Group II (P = 0.000) and Group III (P = 0.005) was found to be statistically significant. However, for Group I (P = 0.153), this difference was not significant. The difference in mean plaque scores at baseline and follow-up in all the three groups was statistically significant. When the mean differences in debris and plaque scores of the three groups were compared, it was found to be statistically significant for Group I and Group II and Group I and Group III, however, it was not significant for Groups II and III. Conclusion: The present study showed that the cleaning ability of the toothbrush with dentifrice was more effective in the removal of debris and plaque than the cleaning ability of the toothbrush without dentifrice.

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