Public Health Dentistry

President's Message V Gopikrishna Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):1-1

Hon. Gen. Secretary's Message Sabyasachi Saha Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):2-2

From the Editor's Desk KR Sowmya Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):3-3

Comparison of hematological parameters for signs of anemia among participants with and without chronic periodontitis: A cross-sectional study Sarita Parihar, NK Sharma, Atul Bhatnagar, Dhiraj Kishore, Ajit V Parihar, Faizia Rahman Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):4-7 Background: Chronic infection has a known effect on the cytokine levels of the body which adversely affects erythropoiesis. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare hematological parameters among participants with and without chronic periodontitis which also is a known infectious inflammatory disease of the gums. Materials and Methods: Forty patients with severe chronic periodontitis (Group A) and forty periodontally healthy participants (Group B) in the age group of 30–55 years presenting to the Outpatient Department of the Faculty of Dental Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, were recruited in the study and were assessed for various hematological and periodontal parameters. SPSS 17.0 version was used. Student's t-test (unpaired) was used. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Group A showed lower hemoglobin (Hb, 13.47 ± 1.05, P = 0.019), erythrocyte count (4.63 ± 0.40, P = 0.002), and mean corpuscular Hb concentration (32.58 ± 0.90, P = 0.003) values compared to Group B (13.95 ± 0.70, 4.90 ± 0.33, and 33.18 ± 0.81, respectively). Conclusion: Within the limitations of the study, it can be safely deduced that a positive relationship exists between the hematological parameters and severity of chronic periodontal disease, suggesting that long-standing chronic periodontitis may lead to the development of signs of anemia.

Shutting our eyes to an open secret: Knowledge, attitude, and behavior of dentists regarding domestic violence in India Zoha Abdullah, Joseph John Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):8-13 Background: The majority of victims of domestic violence sustain maxillofacial injuries. Dental professionals can play a vital role in preventing violence against women, helping identify abuse early, providing victims with the necessary treatment, and referring women to appropriate care. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding domestic violence among dental health practitioners in India. Materials and Methods: The authors surveyed a random sample of 106 dental health practitioners using a pretested, structured, and validated questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge, attitude, and behavior regarding domestic violence. Survey items were developed based on the domestic violence and health-care literatures. Collected data were subjected to statistical analysis using Chi-square test, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Sixty-four percent of the responding dentists believed that it is not their responsibility to screen patients for abuse; 7.5% never screened for abuse, even when signs of abuse were present; and 34.9% did not have enough time in their practice to raise the issue of domestic violence. The majority of respondents believed that domestic abuse should be a private matter and asking about abuse is an invasion of privacy. Female respondents' attitude toward domestic violence was more positive when compared to the males. Conclusion: The level of knowledge regarding domestic violence among the respondents was insufficient. The findings of this study strongly recommend that this issue be included in the undergraduate dental education curriculum to improve the health care and assistance provided to the victims of abuse.

Tobacco use: Exploring the beliefs of street food vendors in Delhi, India Shivam Kapoor, Vikrant Mohanty, Aswini Y Balappanavar Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):14-18 Background: Tobacco-use shows a clear and continual increase with decreasing wealth quintiles. Street vendors are an integral part of the Indian economy, offering potpourri of readily available, inexpensive goods or services in public spaces since time immemorial. Aim: The current study explores tobacco-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior among street food vendors in New Delhi. Materials and Methods: An interview-based questionnaire survey was conducted among food vendors, using prevalidated tool. Apart from demography, 15-item assessed knowledge, attitude, and awareness on tobacco use and control for 2 months. Tobacco usage history was assessed on a 9-item checklist for the users. A total of 147 vendors around a tertiary care public hospital in Central Delhi, who agreed to participate in the study constituted the study sample. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Gender differences for the same were ranked and tested for a significant difference using the Mann–Whitney test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The majority of the subset of this sample (n = 127) were found to be tobacco users in either forms (smoke, smokeless, or both). Eighty-seven (68.5%) of the vendors reported the initiation of tobacco use between 18–25 years and 61 (48.03%) participants admitted the morning smoke/dip as most difficult to give up. All of them were aware about the harmful systemic effects of tobacco. Around 66% of the study participants were aware of the existing tobacco legislations in relation to minors and public places. Conclusions: In the current study, most of the food vendors, although aware, were found to be tobacco users. This group constitutes as important socially relevant spot that need rigorous monitoring. Further studies need to collect nationwide data and take effective steps in defining these sites as tobacco-free.

Assessment of dental students' attitudes and perceptions toward professionalism N Amritha, MK Vanishree, K Mahesh Chandra, Priya Babu Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):19-24 Background: Professionalism is a broad competency needed by dentists to act effectively and efficiently. It is seen as a central part of both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) curricula. Aims: This study aimed to assess the attitude and perceptions of dental students toward professionalism and the influence of gender on the same. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in four different dental colleges of Bengaluru city. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select a sample of 480 dental students. The Professional Assessment Scale was used to assess professionalism. It is a 22-item questionnaire which is divided into three domains, namely, empathy and humanism, professional development and relationship, and professional responsibility domains. The students responded on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS software version 14.0. Chi-square test, independent Student's t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation were performed. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean overall Professional Assessment Scale scores were 93.12 ± 10.35, 97.41 ± 8.59, and 94.42 ± 10.06 for UGs, interns, and PGs, respectively, and these associations were statistically significant (P < 0.001). No significant gender differences were observed in the overall mean scores. Conclusions: The study concluded that all the participants possessed at least some elements of professionalism; recognizing these concerns and integrating them into professional educational programs can result in a better and more supportive health-care service for the public.

Professional environmental stress among dental and engineering students in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, Central India: A comparative cross-sectional study Ramakrishna Chevvuri, N Naveen, GY Yunus, Ram Tiwari, Hunny Sharma, Swati Verma Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):25-30 Background: Students undertaking professional courses such as medical, dental, and engineering are subjected to higher stress resulting in psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. This may be attributed to various factors such as academic, social events, health-related, and personal issues. Aim: This study aims to assess and compare professional environmental stress between dental and engineering students in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. Methodology: A Modified Dental Environmental Stress Survey Questionnaire comprising 24 questions was pretested and administered among 316 students (115 dental and 201 engineering) to compare the professional environmental stress across stressor domains such as academic performance, faculty relations, personal issues, and professional identity. Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test were applied using IBM Corporation SPSS version 23 program (New York, USA). P ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Final year dental students reported higher stress than third year students with mean scores 34.91 ± 4.55 and 32.34 ± 5.36, respectively (P < 0.01). Final year engineering students experienced higher stress than third year students with mean scores 31.84 ± 4.29 and 29.86 ± 4.14, respectively (P < 0.01). Dental students reported higher stress than engineering students with mean scores 33.66 ± 5.10 and 30.78 ± 4.31, respectively (P < 0.01). Conclusion: This study gives the glimpse of factors creating stressful environment among the two science fields, the elimination of which will result in higher productivity and student-friendly environment for higher studies. The results were indicating that the intervention is necessary for psychological well-being of the students. Henceforth effective means of reducing stress should be explored together with determining emphatic methods of coping with the tensions.

Association of personality traits with anxiety and depression among clinical and nonclinical dental students Aditi Sharma, Simarpreet Singh, Anmol Mathur, Manu Batra, Vikram Pal Aggarwal, Puneet Kaur, Deeksha Gijwani Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):31-35 Background: There are studies about anxiety and depression among medical students well narrated in literature. However, limited studies have been reported among dental students. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the association between anxiety and depression with personality traits, type of education exposure, and their effect on coping strategies among dental students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was carried out among undergraduate dental students. Questions were related to the consumption of alcohol, smoking, chewing gums, and chocolates. Validated questionnaires such as the Hospital and Anxiety Scale and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-A Scale were used for evaluating anxiety and depression and personality traits, respectively. The statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 20.0). Chi-square test, Student's t-test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used for analysis, and the level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The results showed that males in nonclinical years (3.81 ± 1.18) and females in clinical years (4 ± 0.85) were more extrovert than their counterparts, whereas males and females in clinical years were more psychotic than males (3.26 ± 0.45) and females (3.03 ± 0.84) in nonclinical years. It was found that females in clinical years were more anxious and depressed than their counterparts. When extraversion was correlated with anxiety and depression, a negative correlation (-0.05,-0.63) was seen which was statistically significant for depression (P = 0.01), whereas a positive correlation was seen when psychoticism was correlated with anxiety (0.16, P = 0.61) and depression (0.5, P = 0.02). Among the total participants, a majority consumed chocolates as a coping strategy. Conclusion: It was observed that many dental students who were in their clinical years had more anxiety and depression as compared to their nonclinical peers which could be due to their personality traits. Interventions should be targeted to deal with these problems.

Effect of stress, depression, and anxiety over periodontal health indicators among health professional students Gautami S Penmetsa, Pasagadugula Seethalakshmi Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry 2019 17(1):36-40 Background: Stress has become a part of one's life, which results in the development of depression and anxiety. This is commonly thought to have a net-negative effect on the efficacy of the immune response, subsequently resulting in periodontal breakdown. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of depression, anxiety, and stress [DAS] over periodontal health indicators among the health-care professional students. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in 375 undergraduate health professional students, of which 125 were medical students, 125 were dental students, and 125 were pharmacy students, who were taken from three colleges in Andhra Pradesh. Questionnaires (self-reported oral hygiene questionnaire and DAS Scale questionnaire) were given to the participants, and clinical examination was conducted in all the participants to assess the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth, and clinical attachment level. Statistical analysis was performed using the ANOVA test and post hoc test to compare the psychological parameters with periodontal parameters among three groups of health professional students. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Medical students depicted higher mean stress levels (8.00 ± 2.75) (P < 0.001) and mean DAS score (20.23 ± 6.21) (P < 0.001) than dental and pharmacy students; the mean PI (1.05 ± 0.38) (P < 0.001) and the mean GI (0.72 ± 0.38) (P < 0.001) scores are also increased with stress levels among medical students. Conclusion: Psychological factors have an adverse effect over the plaque levels and gingival status among the students.