Oral health and hygiene practices from Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir, India: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional observational survey

Kango, Hafsa, Jha, Neelu Anand, Masoodi, Parvaiz, Naz, Aliya and Chowdhury, Abhiroop (2025) Oral health and hygiene practices from Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir, India: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional observational survey. Healthcare, 13 (5). p. 458. ISSN 2227-9032

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Oral hygiene practices are important for good oral health and overall well-being. In this study, we surveyed people across age groups and genders to understand the oral hygiene practices of Baramulla district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Methods: 488 participants—229 males and 259 females—were randomly interviewed through a structured 20-item questionnaire. A chi-square test was used to analyze the age and gender-specific associations in oral hygiene behaviors. Results: The study revealed that majority of participants brushed their teeth only once a day instead of the recommended twice a day; only young cohorts showed relatively higher practice of brushing twice daily. A significantly higher proportion of males (11.69%) rarely brushed their teeth compared to females (4.28%). Tongue cleaning was poorly reported across age and genders and more than 60% of respondents did not clean their tongue at all. Almost 75% and above had made dental visits at least once. However, the visits were made primarily in cases of pain and sensitivity, indicating negligence, financial issues, or a general lack of awareness. The younger cohorts reported eating fast food more frequently, indicating risk groups. The majority of male respondents (45.88%) reported fair oral health whereas the majority of female respondents (35.29%) reported poor overall oral health. Conclusions: Our results show that oral hygiene practices need more improvement, and the attitude and knowledge of the residents need to be ameliorated through oral health education policy interventions.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: oral health | oral hygiene practices | oral diseases | Jammu and Kashmir
Subjects: Physical, Life and Health Sciences > Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Social Sciences (General)
JGU School/Centre: Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities
Jindal School of Environment and Sustainability
Depositing User: Dharmveer Modi
Date Deposited: 05 Mar 2025 16:22
Last Modified: 06 Mar 2025 16:40
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13050458
URI: https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/9213

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