Prosthodontic Need among Adults of Hubli, Karnataka India

Abstract

A B S T R A C T BACKGROUNDProsthodontic needs are the determinants of tooth rehabilitation as tooth replacement is important to restore the vital functions of the teeth like mastication, aesthetics, phonetics etc., finally contributing to better quality of life. Estimating the prosthodontic needs is essential for planning prosthodontic service for the given population. Thus, the present study aims to assess the prosthodontic needs among the adults of Hubli city and to know its association with the selected sociodemographic parameters like age, gender, educational level, occupation and diet. METHODSA total of 685 adult subjects was included for the study. House to house survey was conducted and information on prosthodontic needs and sociodemographic variables were gathered by interview and clinical examination method. Collected data was analysed by descriptive statistics and chi-square test. RESULTSOut of 685 subjects, 56.3% are males and 43.6% are females. 44.8% required prosthetic teeth among which 31.3% needed upper arch teeth and 36% were in need of lower teeth. Prosthetic needs were more among females (50.1%), 59-65 years old (88.5%), with primary education (56.9%), married people (49.1%), Hindus (45.8%), farmers (68.4%) and among vegetarians (47.7%). Chi-square results showed that, prosthodontic needs are significantly associated with sex (p= .013), age (p=.000), marital status (p= .000) and occupation (p= .000). CONCLUSIONSProsthodontic needs are more among the adults of Hubli region indicating a negative attitude towards tooth retention. Hence, public should be made aware of maintaining healthy teeth and preventing the teeth loss. Further, people of Hubli area should be encouraged to get the teeth replacement at the earliest. Also, there is a need to implement affordable and accessible prosthodontic care for this population as nearly half of the adults need teeth prosthesis.