Oral Health Assessment, an Epidemiological Survey among Dental Patients from Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract
| Objective:Present study was conducted to assess the oral health practices, oral hygiene habits and associated dental problems among subjects from Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: This cross sectional epidemiological study was consisted of sixty two, 11-56 years old dental subjects from both genders enrolled from Jinnah hospital, Lahore for oral examination. Questionnaire included the questions regarding basic demographic information, medical history, life style and behavior and dietary history was distributed among enrolled subjects and they were interviewed using the World Health Organization health protocols. Results: From the dental enrolled subjects, 30.6% patients have chronic diseases which included kidney dysfunction, digestive problems, respiratory diseases, Diabetes, bone and joint problems and hypertension. The prevalence of cavities was high 82.3% among dental patients and remaining have swollen gums, abscess and pain and of them 75.8% were underwent through past treatment of dental filling, implant, extraction and root canal. Teeth sensitivity and chewing difficulty was experienced by 88.7% of subjects. For dental hygiene, tooth brushing was carried out by 85.5%, miswak by 9.7% and low percentage of rinsing practice that was 4.8%. 91.9% of the subjects have visited the dentist when needed and the remaining percentage have practice of dentist visit one month or two months. About dietary history of usage of artificial sweetener, candies, ice-cream, rusk, carbonated beverages, chewing gums, cookies, snakes, eggs, meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables etc. was varied among subjects with respect to daily, weekly and never use. Conclusion: Awareness programs should be conducted to promote oral health awareness and its impact on systemic health amongst the general population of Lahore. Continuous implementation of oral health awareness programs in community can improve the oral health and better oral health practices results in better quality of life.