Bilal Ahmed, Mian Farrukh Imran, Muhammad Amin, Faryal Saeed.
Sources of information and oral hygiene practice among patients visiting dental section of University Medical & Dental College, Faisalabad.
J Uni Med Dent Coll Jan ;1(2):8-10.

Oral and Dental Health education can play an important role in improving the patient’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards their dental health 1. Most of the dental diseases can be prevented on individual and public level by providing oral health related education among the general population. Oral health knowledge is considered to be an essential pre requisite for health related behavior 2. According to the National Oral Health Survey of Pakistan, majority of the people do not have access to the basic curative dental health facilities in the public & the private sectors. This report states that in the age group of 12-15 years, on an average, every individual has lost about two to three teeth due to dental caries 3. Majority of population in South East Asian region do not have specific trends to visit qualified health facilities. This may be due to socioeconomic and educational factors, but lack of knowledge and its improper implementation are also very important 4. The evaluation of available sources of information and oral hygiene practice is very important as they form the base line of the planning and decision making for provision of health services 5. This study was a part of a larger hospital based survey that was conducted simultaneously in different teaching dental hospitals & dental health facilities of the country both from public as well as from the private sector. A questionnaire was specially designed for this survey. The purpose of this study in particular was to identify the sources of information regarding dental health and their impact on the oral hygiene practices.

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