European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Housewives group of people who take care of the household and under some amount of stress without time for a regular dental check-up or proper oral hygiene practices and with the possibilities of having oral habits such as teeth grinding, nail biting, tooth pick usage, etc as a form of stress release.
Objectives:
To assess the oral hygiene practices, oral habits and dental health seeking behaviour among housewives at SAF Games village residential colony in Chennai city.
Materials and methods:
A cross sectional study using a self-developed questionnaire was conducted to assess the oral hygiene practices, oral habits and dental health seeking behaviour among housewives at SAF Games village residential colony in Chennai city.
Results:
Moderate level of awareness on effective oral hygiene practices was observed in most of the participants. 4 to 25 % of the participants were having oral habits such teeth grinding, nail biting and tooth pick usage. The dental health seeking behaviour was problem driven rather than preventive driven.
Conclusion:
It was concluded that housewives need to be educated on oral hygiene measures including flossing and mouthwash usage and need to undergo comprehensive oral and general examination to assess the full extent of oral health status and treatment needs. They need to be educated on the importance of preventive health care.