Piyush Pujara
Background: Fishing is one such hazardous occupation, which involves irregular diet, stress, alcoholism, tobacco and pernicious habits. Fishermen have lower socioeconomic status and their illiteracy adds to their poor oral hygiene, which may influence general and oral health.
Objective: To assess the oral health status and treatment needs among fishermen population of Kutch District, Gujarat,
India.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the oral health status of the Fishermen community of Mundra taluka of Kutch district, Gujarat, India from January 2013 to June 2013. An interview on the demographic profile followed a clinical examination for recording the oral health status, based on the World Health Organization guidelines. The Chi–square test, t–test, one-way Analysis of Variance and a Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were used for the statistical analysis.
Results: Females had a significantly (p= 0.001) greater prevalence of dental caries (87.6%) as compared to males. The mean number of healthy sextants (3.03 ± 2.65) and the mean DT (2.57 ± 1.63) were also significantly higher in females as compared to those in males (p=0.001). Extraction (66%) was the most prevalent treatment need followed by pulp care and restoration (63.9%). Oral Hygiene Practices and educational status for dental caries and periodontal disease were respectively identified as the best predictors.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that oral health status of fishermen population was relatively poor with high caries prevalence and poor periodontal health. In light of the high treatment needs of the study population, the health policy that emphasizes oral health promotion and prevention would seem more advantageous in addition to traditional curative care