Oral Health Status and Treatment Needs among Residents of Orphanages in Panchkula District, Haryana, India

Objective: To assess the oral health status and treatment needs among residents of orphanages in Panchkula district. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at 11 orphanages of Panchkula District in which all the 464 subjects aged 4-26 years were examined. A Modified WHO format (1997) was used to record the oral health status and demographic details. The inmates needing the treatment were treated up to the best possible extent. Results: The prevalence of dental caries in permanent dentition was found to be 22.7% while for the primary dentition was 5.73%. The mean DMFT was 1.01 whereas the mean dft was 0.28. 58.1% had healthy periodontium, 28% had CPI score 2 followed by 13.6% who had CPI score 1.16.4% subjects had various grades of dental fluorosis. 56.7% of the subjects had never visited a dental surgeon. Conclusion: The results from this baseline study indicate that the prevalence of dental diseases is high among orphans. They have many cumulative treatment needs and very poor access to oral health care. Therefore, educational programs are to be initiated for the orphans regarding causes, prevention and treatment of dental diseases. It is crucial to generate considerable efforts to implement health promotion strategies to reverse the observed trends and to provide treatment to dental problems to prevent their biologic and psychological consequences.