Association of Oral Hygiene Practices with Dental Caries in Young Adults

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the association of dental hygiene practices and dental caries, check its relation and establish factors that can help in reducing the caries. Study design and setting: A cross sectional study was conducted on 180 young adults who held a degree of bachelor’s and 20- 35 years of age from Lahore, Okara and Gujranwala. Methodology: Ethical approval was sought from the Research and Ethical Review Board of the Dental College. Confidentiality was ensured. Study was conducted over a period of six months. A confidence interval of 95% was established and p value <0.05 was considered significant. The questionnaire consisted of 26 questions related to oral hygiene and status of caries. The participants were interviewed using a questionnaire about the frequency of brushing, technique used, type of toothbrush, fluoridated toothpastes, use of other aids, consumption of sugary snacks, dental visits, and established caries. The relation was established with the diagnosed caries through frequency charts, correlation and Chi- square test using SPSS version 26. Results: Of the 180 participants 126 were females (70%) and all the participants were educated and held a bachelor’s degree. Dental caries was known to 158 participants (87.87%) and 85(71%) of the people said they brush twice a day. A significant association of the diagnosed caries with the skipping of brushing, status of oral hygiene and visit to the dentist was found as suggested by the p-values 0.042,0.023 and <0.001 respectively. Conclusion: Healthy oral hygiene practices can reduce the caries.