Get Permission Saroshe, Saroshe, Sakalle, and Dixit: A cross sectional study to assess the level of awareness of dental surgeons about national oral health program in a city of central India


Introduction

World Health Organization has defined Oral health as the state of the mouth, teeth and orofacial structures that enables individuals to perform essential functions such as eating, breathing and speaking, and encompasses psychosocial dimensions such as self-confidence, well-being and the ability to socialize and work without pain, discomfort and embarrassment.1

In 1999, the Ministry of Health Family Welfare, government of India, launched the first National Oral Health Care Programme on a pilot basis. In the 12th Five Year Plan, in 2012, an allocation was made for the set-up of a National Oral Health Cell at the Ministry of Health Family Welfare.2

Taking into account the oral health situation in the country, Government of India initiated a National Oral Health Programme to provide integrated, comprehensive oral health care in the existing health care facilities.3

The National Oral Health Programme functions under two components:

  1. National Health Mission (NHM) component – Through the PIP (Program Implementation Plan) process, States and UTs can seek support to set up Dental Care Units at the level of District Hospitals and may propose for support for all or any of the following components, as per need:

    1. Manpower support [Dentist, Dental Hygienist, Dental Assistant].

    2. Equipment including Dental Chair, X-ray units, autoclaves etc.

    3. Consumables for dental procedures.

  2. Tertiary component –These include

    1. Designing IEC/ BCC materials like Posters, TV, Radio Spots, Training Modules etc.

    2. Organizing national and regional nodal officers training programs.

    3. Preparing State/District level Trainers by conducting national and regional dental workshops.2

This cross-sectional study was contemplated in Indore district to assess the awareness of dental surgeons regarding their awareness about the basic tenets of the National Oral Health program.

Materials and Methods

Type of the study

Cross sectional study

Duration of the study

6 Months- January-June 2024

Site of the study

Indore district.

Sample Size

100

Sampling technique

Purposive sampling

Study method

  1. First of all, the list of dental surgeons operating in Indore district was obtained.

  2. Dental surgeons were randomly identified from this list.

  3. Their written informed consent was obtained to be a part of the study.

  4. Pre-designed semi structured questionnaire was prepared and fed in google forms and shared with these identified dental surgeons.

  5. Data collected was entered in MS excel/spreadsheets.

  6. Data was analysed using appropriate statistical software.

Results

Table 1

Awareness about national oral health programme of the government of India

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of NOHP-GoI

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

69

69%

2.

No

31

31%

3.

Total

100

100%

69% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India.(Table 1)

Table 2

Awareness about national oral health programme of the government of India -Man power support [Dentist, Dental Hygienist, Dental Assistant]

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of Manpower support

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

47

47%

2.

No

53

53%

3.

Total

100

100%

47% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Manpower support [Dentist, Dental Hygienist, Dental Assistant].(Table 2)

Table 3

Awareness about national oral health programme of the government of India - Equipment including dental chair, x-ray units, autoclaves etc.

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of Equipment including Dental Chair, X-ray units, autoclaves etc.

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

41

41%

2.

No

59

59%

3.

Total

100

100%

41% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Equipment including Dental Chair, X-ray units, autoclaves etc.(Table 3)

Table 4

4- Awareness about national oral health programme of the government of India - Consumables for dental procedures

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of Consumables for dental procedures

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

41

41%

2.

No

59

59%

3.

Total

100

100%

41% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Consumables for dental procedures.(Table 4)

Table 5

Awareness about national oral health programme of the government of India - IEC/ BCC activities like posters, tv, radio spots, training modules etc.

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of IEC/ BCC activities like Posters, TV, Radio Spots, Training Modules etc.

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

37

37%

2.

No

63

63%

3.

Total

100

100%

37% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- IEC/ BCC activities like Posters, TV, Radio Spots, Training Modules etc.(Table 5)

Table 6

Awareness about national oral health programme of the government of India - national and regional nodal officers training programs

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of national and regional nodal officers training programs

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

33

33%

2.

No

67

67%

3.

Total

100

100%

33% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- national and regional nodal officers training programs.(Table 6)

Table 7

Awareness about national oral health programme of the governmentof India - Preparing State/District level Trainers by conducting national and regional workshops

S.No.

Dental Surgeons aware of Preparing State/District level Trainers by conducting national and regional workshops

Frequency

Percentage

1.

Yes

33

33%

2.

No

67

67%

3.

Total

100

100%

33% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Preparing State/District level Trainers by conducting national and regional workshops.(Table 7)

Discussion

To the best of the knowledge of the authors, this is probably the first study of its kind to assess the awareness of the dental surgeons regarding the National Oral Health Programme and its basic tenets. 69% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India. 47% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Manpower support [Dentist, Dental Hygienist, Dental Assistant]. 41% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Equipment including Dental Chair, X-ray units, autoclaves etc. 41% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Consumables for dental procedures. 37% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- IEC/ BCC activities like Posters, TV, Radio Spots, Training Modules etc. 33% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- national and regional nodal officers training programs. 33% dental surgeons were aware of National Oral Health Programme of the Government of India- Preparing State/District level Trainers by conducting national and regional workshops. According to Gambhir et al, the existing situation demands the formulation and implementation of National Oral Health Policy in India. 4 According to B Paul et al, community-based educational programs by health professionals, in collaboration with print and media would also be effective in spreading the awareness and importance of proper dental care. 5

L Swaticharan et al concluded that in India, although Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and the National Oral Health Program (NOHP) are there, but there is an urgent need to frame strategies for integrated, focused and efficient oral health care services. 6

V Niranjan advocated a compelling need to evaluate current oral health status and re-structure policy guidelines. 7 V Ramanarayanan et al have, similarly, stressed the importance of reorientation of oral health services to combat the burden of diseases. 8

Kothia et al has concluded the need for implementation of the drafted oral health policy with modification that suits the rapidly changing oral health system. 9 Similarly Rawat et al opined that it is important for all the stakeholders to conquer every single barrier and define a compelling national oral health policy backed by current scientific evidence. 10 Sunder Lal et al put forward the ten points strategies that would help in the implementation of national Oral Health Programme. 11 P Chandrashekhar et al has rightly concluded that coordinated efforts of all stakeholders will lead to progress in areas of oral health governance, oral health promotion and disease prevention, the oral health workforce, oral health services, and oral health information systems. 12

Many international and national authors have stressed the importance of the overall “neglect” of oral health care and the need to strengthen oral health policies and programs both at national and international level. 13, 14, 15, 16

Even World Health Organization through its Global strategy and action plan on oral health 2023-2030 has committed to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) for oral health by 2030. Hopefully India will also come out with a comprehensive and concrete National Oral Health Program in compliance with the Universal health coverage for oral health. 17, 18

Conclusions

The present study clearly indicates that there is need to increase the awareness of National Oral Health Programme not only among dental surgeons but also common men. Government should take active interventions to increase the awareness of NOHP so that more and more people can utilize its facilities.

Source of Funding

None.

Conflict of Interest

None.

References

2 

National Oral Health Program 108https://edantseva.gov.in/content/national-oral-health-programme[Accessed on 01-08-2024]

3 

National Oral Health Programhttps://nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=1044&lid=608[Accessed on 01-08-2024]

4 

RS Gambhir T Gupta Need for Oral Health Policy in IndiaAnn Med Health Sci Res201661505PMCID

5 

B Paul M Basu S Dutta S Chattopadhyay D Sinha R Misra Awareness and Practices of Oral Hygiene and its Relation to Sociodemographic Factors among Patients attending the General Outpatient Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Kolkata, IndiaJ Family Med Prim Care20143210711

6 

L Swasticharan UK Mohanty Children’s Oral Health in National Oral Health Policy and Program of IndiaJ South Asian Assoc Pediatr Dent201812312

7 

V Niranjan An overview of oral health plan of India: Evaluating current status of oral healthcare and advocacy for national oral health policyJ Adv Oral Res201563249

8 

V Ramanarayanan C Janakiram J Joseph K Krishnakumar Oral health care system analysis: A case study from IndiaJ Family Med Prim Care20209419507

9 

NR Kothia VS Bommireddy T Devaki NR Vinnakota S Ravoori S Sanikommu Assessment of the Status of National Oral Health Policy in IndiaInt J Health Policy Manag20154957581PMCID

10 

R Rawat GS Aswal D Dwivedi V Gurumurthy S Vishwanath Decoding India’s national oral health program-an appraisal of the barriers to quality dental careInt J Community Med Public Health20208145862

11 

L Sunder P Dinesh BM Vashisht National Oral Health Care Programme (NOHCP) Implementation StrategiesIndian J Comm Med20042913

12 

P Chandrashekar Rene Selestina J P Preventive Oral Healthcare Programs Worldwide: A Narrative ReviewJ Sci Den20231312527

13 

B Gaffar RJ Schroth MO Foláyan F Ramos-Gomez JI Virtanen A global survey of national oral health policies and its coverage for young childrenFront Oral Health20245136264710.3389/froh.2024.1362647

14 

A Celis DI Conway LMD Macpherson AD McMahon Data Resource Profile: National Child Oral Health Improvement Programmes for ChileInt J Epidemio2023522e1105

15 

V Kumar R Sangle R Jain N Bhanushali S Yadav A Qureshi Allocating intricacies: pediatric oral health spotlight in the union health and well-being budget of IndiaFront Dent Med20234113429410.3389/fdmed.2023.1134294

16 

PE Petersen World Health Organization global policy for improvement of oral health--World Health Assembly 2007Int Dent J200758311521

17 

WHO global oral health meeting: Universal health coverage for oral health by 2030https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2024/11/26/default-calendar/who-global-oral-health-meeting--universal-health-coverage-for-oral-health-by-2030[Accessed on 16-08-2024]

18 

The resolution on oral health, the Global strategy on oral health, the Global oral health action plan 2023–2030 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240090538[Accessed on 16-08-2024]



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Article History

Received : 15-08-2024

Accepted : 06-09-2024


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https://doi.org/10.18231/j.jds.2024.021


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