Oral hygiene habits, oral health status, and oral health care seeking behaviors among spinning mill workers in Guntur district: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Though the oral health status of workers from different industries was reported in literature, there is little information with regard to spinning mill workers. The aim of this study was to document the oral health status, oral hygiene routine, and frequency of utilization of oral health care services among spinning mill workers in Guntur district. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 458 spinning mill workers in Guntur district participated in this study. Data on hygiene practices, self-reported dental problems, past dental visits, type and place of availed treatments, and barriers for utilizing dental services were recorded. Oral health status was examined using Simplified Oral Hygiene Index, DMFT index, and Community Periodontal Index. RESULTS: Female participants were found to have better oral hygiene status compared to males, which is partially significant. Similar was the scenario when caries experience was considered. Majority of the study subjects (74%) have a DMFT score of 1–6. There were 86 participants without any coronal caries experience. The mean coronal caries experience was more among older spinning mill workers compared to the younger workers. The difference in DMFT scores between males and females was not significant. Majority of the participants (46.3%) were with CPI score 2, while only 10.2% were observed to have all healthy sextants. 136 subjects (30.15%) demonstrated loss of attachment of some severity. CONCLUSION: Though the oral hygiene habits reported by the spinning mill workers were fair, oral health care seeking behaviors were found to be less informed. There is a serious need to improve the oral health awareness and care seeking behaviors among these workers.