Zubair Uddin Ahmed, Khalid Shafiq, Aisha Wali, Talha M Siddiqui, Aisha Usman, Foiz.
Knowledge attitude and practices of oral health amongst low socioeconomic strata of Sindh.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;36(4):628-32.

Good oral health is an essential component of general health. The attitude of an individual towards oral health depends upon the experiences, lifestyles, beliefs, cultural and moral values, financial status, time and influencial surroundings. Poor oral health may lead to demoralization, inhibition of social relations that leads to chronic stress and depression, financial crisis and it is highly prevalent in low-income populations. The present cross sectional study was carried out from September 2015 to March 2016 in three towns of Gadap UC-3 area which included Radho Jokhio goth, Goth Haji Sain Rakhio and Haji Qadir goth. The recruiting areas comprised of individuals with low socio economic status which was characterized on the basis of their occupation. The sample was collected by employing cluster sampling technique and 300 healthy subjects (110 males and 190 females) aged 18-64 years were included in the study. A Questionnaire was prepared to collect the data. P value was kept at 0.05. Data were analyzed for Descriptive Statistics (Frequency and percentages) by using IBM SPSS software version 22. The mean score calculated for knowledge about cleaning of teeth and facilities provided at nearby clinic/ Hospital was 2.00. One hundred and thirty (68.4%) of the females and 96(87.2%) of the males reported that they brushed their teeth with wooden stick. Sixty nine (36.3%) of the females and 37(33.6%) of the males reported that they brushed their teeth with tooth brush. All the individuals of low socio economic class showed low level of knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding oral hygiene conditions.

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