Oral health status of middle-aged (45–55 Years) rural women: A cross-sectional study from North India

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to assess the oral hygiene practices and oral health status of middle aged (45–55 years) women residing in rural areas of Ambala district (Haryana). Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 79 villages were selected using simple random sampling technique through an online randomizer. The study participants (780) were selected through convenience sampling and oral health status was (dental caries, periodontal status, prosthetic needs, and dental fluorosis) recorded on a self-structured format based on World Health Organization Criteria (WHO, 1997). Group comparisons were done by using Chi-square test for categorical data. Results: In the present study, 69.2% of the study participants used toothbrush and toothpaste for cleaning teeth. Women in the age group of 45–50 years had lower mean Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (7.80 ± 5.21) when compared with the age group of 51–55 years (9.77 ± 6.16). Ninety-eight percentage of the women were in need of dental prosthesis. Among the study participants, 56.5% had 4–5 mm loss of attachment (LOA) and 23.2% had 6–8 mm of LOA. Difference between the need for multiunit dental prosthesis among the age groups (45–50 years) and (51–55 years) was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: Thus middle-aged women residing in rural area have high oral care need; however, there is quite a gap between the need for dental care and the amount of dental care utilized.

Assessment of Oral Hygiene Practice and Associated Factors among Middle-aged People in a Rural Municipality, Nepal

“…In the current study, the majority of respondents i.e., 80% practiced brushing their teeth once a day. According to a study conducted in India, among the middle aged rural women, the majority of respondents brushed their teeth once a day [20]. It shows that people have normalized brushing their teeth once a day in both study areas although the study areas are different.…”

“…We took 291 respondents by adding some surplus data. All people aged between 40 to 60 years were included because this group need high oral care [20,36].…”

“…According to Nepal national pathfinder survey, the prevalence of dental caries among adults aged 35-49 years was 57.5% and those aged >50 years were 69.6% [18]. People in rural areas have comparatively poor oral hygiene practices [19] and have high oral care needs [20]. According to the study in Nepal, more than fifty percent of the participant have below-average practice in oral hygiene (55.8%) and only 44.2% of the participant have above-average practice in oral hygiene [21].…”

Factors affecting the oral health behavior of Indian married women

“…1 Age, gender, Socioeconomic status, marital status, lifestyle behavior, education have been found to have a significant impact on the oral health. 2 In countries like India, it is seen that more men seek medical help when compared to women. This disparity can be attributed to our social fabric, in which men are given more importance in all the spheres and accordingly their health gets more medical attention.…”