Search

Diabetes mellitus is a common systemic disease whose incidence is currently rising in our contemporary world. In recent years, it has been well-known that chronic periodontitis is listed as an important segment of the complications of diabetes mellitus. Along with chronic periodontitis several other oral manifestations such as increased incidence of dental caries, aphthous ulcers, xerostomia, burning mouth syndrome, etc. It has also been seen that those with diabetes mellitus are more prone to such oral conditions when compared to healthy individuals. Awareness regarding the bidirectional relationship between diabetes mellitus and general oral health, which is bidirectional in nature has shown to be unsatisfactory among the general public and those with diabetes whereas there is satisfactory awareness among physicians and dental practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background-Oral hygiene is highly personalised concept and major public health concern that relies on an individual's culture and socio-economic status. Hence, it is imperative that health services should be made available to all rural/semi urban areas as well. Thus it is important to create awareness through various public health programs regarding oral hygiene and its effects on general health in order to change the total perspective of the patients towards dental problems to lead a healthy quality life. Objective-Thus the aim of this study is to assess the oral hygiene awareness and their knowledge on different oral hygiene practices. Materials and Methods- A total of 369 patients participated in the study. The patients were interviewed on questionnaire basis. A self-reported questionnaire consisting of 26 multiple choice questions written in English were given to the patients. Statistical analysis-Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage was used to assess the oral health awareness and oral hygiene practice among the subjects who are attending A.B Shetty Memorial Institute Of Dental Sciences, Derlakatte, Mangalore. Results- The result of this study showed an acute lack of oral hygiene awareness and limited knowledge of oral hygiene practices. Most of the patients were not aware of the relationship between systemic and general health. Conclusion- Hence there is an urgent need to educate and motivate the patients for better oral hygiene awareness and practisesand conduct various health programsforthesame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]