Prevalence of Oral Health Status among the General Population in Kallakurichi District, Tamil Nadu, India- A Cross-Sectional Study

AIM: The aim of this study is to analyze the prevalence of oral health status among the general population in Kallakurichi district, Tamil Nadu, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the general public in the Kallakurichi district. A total number of 176 samples were selected and equally divided among urban (88 samples) and rural areas (88 samples). The samples were obtained from various parts of urban and rural areas in the Kallakurichi district based on the multistage random sampling method. The data regarding oral health status was recorded using the World Health Organization (WHO) Proformas 2013 and 1997. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using the Chi-square test. RESULTS: The prevalence of dental caries (74.1%) was found to be the highest in the Kallakurichi district, followed by malocclusion (71.7%) and periodontal diseases (66.7%). A significant result was found in dental caries, dental fluorosis, dental trauma, and dental erosion between the index age groups. CONCLUSION: The government of Tamil Nadu should take proper preventive measures and also provide oral health knowledge and awareness among the public to overcome these dental problems.