Oral hygiene practices and awareness among first-year students of UG professional courses in Rajahmundry: A comparative cross-sectional study

Introduction: Young individuals like Engineering students, Dentists and Medical practitioners play a pivotal role in raising awareness of oral health. These professionals should be equipped with a basic knowledge of oral hygiene regimen at an early age for the prevention of oral diseases. Aim: Our study aimed to compare oral hygiene awareness and practices by evaluating the Questionnaire filled by students of first-year dental, first-year engineering, and first-year medical students in Rajahmundry. Subjects and Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study included 50 Students each from dental, medical, and an engineering college in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Students were asked to fill a questionnaire pertaining to oral hygiene practice, awareness of oral health. Data was collected, tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis, and results were expressed as numbers and percentages from each group. Results: All the data collected from the participants were analyzed using SPSS software. Inter-group comparison was made for each question using the Chi-square test. Results of this study show statistically significant outcomes in Q2, Q4, Q6, Q7, Q9, Q12, Q13 which are pertaining to frequency of dental check-ups, mechanical plaque control aids and practices. Conclusions: Our study found that oral health awareness of dental students was marginally better than their counterparts during initial phase of graduation regarding oral hygiene knowledge and awareness. Further emphasis should be done on the health education regarding improvement in their knowledge of oral hygiene to every individual irrespective of their field on regular basis by workshops which demonstrates oral hygiene practices.