Tool for Assessment of Rural Oral Health Determinants

BACKGROUND Rural populations facing several challenges such as lack of man power, poor accessibility, poverty, illiteracy and many others. Assessment of determinants of oral health becomes essential in developing policies to improve health among such disadvantaged population. The objectives of this study were to develop a Rural Oral Health Determinants (ROHD) tool and identify the determinants of dental caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. METHODS Rural Oral Health Determinants tool was developed based on literature review and expert opinion and its content validity was evaluated. A cross sectional study was carried out among the residents of 206 households in T Hosur village, Karnataka to assess the test–retest reliability and to identify the determinants of dental caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. Data on determinants of oral health were collected using validated ROHD tool and the oral health status was recorded using world health organization (WHO) proforma 2013. Descriptive and Chi square analysis were performed. RESULTS Test retest reliability of ROHD tool as measured by intra-class correlation coefficient ranged from 0.72 - 1. Amongst the various determinants of oral health age, marital status, type of sugar consumption, number of dental visits in the last one year were found to be significantly associated with dental caries. Individuals aged ≥ 36 years and married subjects were more likely to have gingivitis. Periodontitis was strongly associated with age, marital status, education and paternal education. CONCLUSIONS ROHD tool has acceptable validity and reliability and can be used as an effective tool to identify comprehensively the determinants of oral health among adults in rural communities. KEY WORDS Dental Caries, Gingivitis, Oral Health, Periodontitis, Rural Population