A Comparative Study on Self-rated Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in a Marginalized Community From Eastern Nepal

Abstract

Background: Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices are essential components of general human health, and its assessment can serve to identify risk factors and design appropriate behavior modification strategies. However, studies on poor and marginalized people who have a higher proportion of oral health problems are relatively scarce. This study aimed to assess the differences in level of knowledge, attitudes and practices between the under-privileged and the privileged population of a rural location in eastern Nepal.

Methods: The under-privileged and privileged population were compared based on the classification of Nepal Government and one respondent from each household was assessed for oral health knowledge, attitude and practices. Chi-square test with odds ratio (OR) were computed for inferential statistics with the probability of significance set at 95% of Confidence Interval (CI).

Results: Of the total participants (1145), almost 50% had poor knowledge on oral health hygiene. Based on their ethnicity, 46.2% fell in the under-privileged category. The privileged groups had more odds (OR) of cleaning their oral cavity [OR=3.5], using tooth brush [OR=2.04], brushing more than once per day [OR=2.3] and visiting dentist for dental problems [OR=2.1] which was statistically significant.

Conclusion: The study population had poor knowledge (≈ 50%) on dental health hygiene. Privileged groups were more likely to clean their oral cavity, use tooth brush, visit dentist for dental problems and brush more than once per day which was statistically significant. This calls for behavior change communication activities on oral hygiene practices.