Oral Health Morbidities and Unmet Needs in seeking Dental Health Care among Schoolchildren from a Low Socioeconomic Locality in Mumbai, India

Abstract

Introduction:Children with dental problems are 12 times more likely to have restricted activity days.1 More than 50 million school hours are lost annually because of oral health problems, which affect children's performance at school and success in later life. In a metropolitan city like Mumbai, no systematic assessment on the oral health problems is available, especially among children belonging to low socioeconomic class studying in municipal schools. Hence, the current study was planned among the children studying in V to VII standards in suburban municipal school and predominantly from a low socioeconomic area, located in the field practice area of a teaching medical college.