Relationship of periodontal status and dental caries status with oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior among professional students in India.

Aim: To find the relationship of periodontal status and dental caries status with oral health knowledge, attitude, behavior, among professional students in India.

Methodology: In a cross sectional study, a total of 825 students (males: 577, females: 248) from six professions were surveyed using a self administered structured questionnaire including 41 multiple choice questions and the WHO Oral Health Assessment Form (1997). The data was analyzed using the SPSS version 13.0 to perform the Student's t-test, ANOVA test, Scheffe's test and Chi-square test, linear regression analysis.

Results: The mean percentage scores of the students for knowledge were 53.25 +/- 15.05; for attitude 74.97 +/- 20.48; and for behavior 59.09 +/- 18.77. The percentage of students with calculus score was found to be significantly high (43.8%). The percentage of professional students with DMFT >4 was 14.1% and the percentage of students with decayed teeth was 46.2%. The regression analysis showed that the oral health behavior of the students was dependent on the attitude (P < 0.001), but showed no significant linear relation with the knowledge. Also, that the mean DMFT score was dependent on the oral health behavior (P < 0.05), but showed no significant relationship with the knowledge and attitude of the students. The periodontal status was independent on the knowledge, but showed a significant relationship with attitude and behavior of the students.

Conclusion: A positive attitude and adherence to good oral hygiene behaviors is associated with better oral health.