Primary Care Dentistry: What and Why of oral health practices of dental OPD attendees from Saurashtra region in Gujarat

Introduction: Oral health and diseases receive little concern in India though their consequences affect the body as a whole. A prerequisite of progress towards optimal oral health is to understand where we stand today. So present study was carried out to evaluate oral hygiene awareness and associate barriers to avail oral health curative services among cross section of patients attending our centre. Materials and Methods: 276 subjects who gave informed consent were included out of 300 in this cross sectional study conducted at dental trust hospital, in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. A pretested, semi structured, self-administered questionnaire was given to each of the participant. Data so collected was calculated in terms of percentages and proportions. Results: 261 (94.5%) subjects were of the view that oral hygiene is mandatory for overall health of the body, whereas hundred ninety-five (70.7%) of the subjects visited a dentist only for symptomatic reasons. 216 (78.3%) of the subjects cleaned their teeth only once in a day and reasons for not brushing teeth twice were being lazy, tired and forgetfulness as mentioned by them. Having no serious dental problem and expensive dental treatment were marked as the major barriers in receiving oral health care services and regular visit to dentist. Conclusion: This study illustrates the peoples’ neglective attitude towards their own oral health. Although majority of the respondents were aware about the necessity to maintain oral hygiene, very few of them translated it into practice. People need to be motivated for positive oral health care seeking behaviour through various campaigns and educational interventions. Key Words: Awareness, Practices, Oral hygiene, Dental health, Gujarat