Assessment of Oral Health Status among the Kutia Kandha Tribe - A Particularly Vulnerable Group Residing in Kandhamal District, Odisha

Objective: In Odisha, the Kandha tribal group is numerically the most populous tribe. Among the several sections of the Kandha communities, two sub-sections, the Kutia Kandha and Dongria Kandha, have been identified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). As a result, the study’s aim was to assess the oral health status of the Kutia Kandha tribe. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 850 Kutia Kandhas using a multistage randomised sampling method in the Tumudibandha Block of Kandhamal District. Data were collected using the World Health Organization (WHO) Oral Health Assessment Form, 2013. Numbers and percentages were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) package version 26.0. Comparisons between discrete and continuous data were done using the Chi-square test and ANOVA. A p-value of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The study population consisted of 850 subjects stratified into seven different age groups. The mean DMFT (permanent) and dmft (deciduous) scores of were 4.06±3.55 and 0.12±0.56 respectively. One hundred fifty-one (16.0%) subjects had bleeding. Three hundred and sixty-two (42.6%) subjects had pockets 4-6 mm and 276 (32.5%) had pockets more than 6 mm. Four hundred and seventy-six (56%) of the study participants had 4-5 mm of loss of attachment followed by 303 (35.6%) with 6-8 mm loss of attachment. Conclusion: The prevalence of caries and periodontal diseases was high. Due to a lack of knowledge about oral hygiene maintenance, proper health education should be provided to the Kutia Kandha tribals.