Myths and taboos in dentistry

Abstract

Background: India, a developing country, faces many challenges in rendering health needs to its countrymen. The influence of culture is seen in every discipline of health and medical practices, and dentistry is no exception. This study was performed to investigate the existence of myths and taboos in dentistry, to assess the variation of these myths across various demographic aspects and socio-economic status, to co-relate the existence of myths with the oral health of the subject and to impart education to the people regarding abolishing the myth as that will be a hindrance towards a healthy life in patients. Methods: The study had a cross-sectional design, used a structured questionnaire and was conducted to assess the existence of dental myths and taboos and to determine its correlation with the OHIS index of the patients. Statistical analysis software SPSS V 16.0 was used. Descriptive & inferential statistical analysis was performed on categorical and continuous data. Chi-square, independent sample T tests and ANOVA test were used to compare the distribution of caries and OHI-S between different groups. P value less than 0.05 (p<0.05) was considered to be significant. Socioeconomic status was also calculated.Results: In the present study it was found that the there was almost an equal distribution of prevalence of myths in the educated as well as uneducated patients .Also the ratio of existence of myths was found higher in females as compared to males.Conclusions: Existence of myths and taboos regarding dental health has started decreasing among the urban population due to the widespread of awareness regarding dentistry.But still there is prevalence of some myths in the patients having primary education as compared to patients having secondary and tertiary education. If community is educated about proper prevention and cure, the myths relating dental concepts will vanish from the society and over all dental health status of the community will improve.

Dental myths: a deterrent to dental care seeking behaviors in developing countries

“…Artificial teeth or dentures are believed to be the natural teeth extracted from another human. In the study by Raina, et al [9], 43.2% of the participants believed this to be true. The authors did not elaborate much on this concept in the paper, but historically a variety of materials have been used to replace lost teeth.…”

“…Nagaraj, et al [8] found that 35% of educated persons and 46% of uneducated ones believed this to be true. Raina, et al [9] in a study carried out in India, found a belief that children born with teeth were harmful to their grandparents. Bankole, et al [10] wrote about a film produced to dispel the Nigerian belief regarding the presence of a natal or neonatal tooth.…”

“…The number of people who believed in the myth of vision loss [14] from the removal of upper teeth was explored by both Raina, et al [9] and Nagaraj, et al [8] among many others. Kiran, et al [15] proposed that in middle age, teeth are lost due to caries or mobility which coincides with the time the patient starts to become short sighted and needing glasses.…”

Dent-O-Myths Amid Young Community: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…But when a question was asked, which of the following will reduce pain, 6.8% of the participants reported as alcohol, 5.0% reported as tobacco and 33.6% reported as aspirin and surprisingly almost 54.6% of the participants reported as none of the above will actually reduce pain. But in the study conducted by Sharma R et al 13 and Raina SA et al 15 showed around 49.4% of their participants believed in the analgesic action of cloves in decayed teeth. It was found that only 17.4% of the participants in the present study believed the same.…”

Misconceptions regarding dental health care: A cross sectional study

“…3 Gradually with the development of education, these misconceptions are disappearing, but still they persist and are commonly encountered and the field of dentistry is no exception to these myths. 4 It is difficult to break this chain as it is deep-seated in the society and understanding them becomes essential to provide a good care. 1 In the field of dentistry, most beliefs (no proven fact) guide the patients in the wrong protocol which can lead to difficulty for dentist to provide a satisfying treatment and effect management outcome adversely.…”