Abstract            Volume:4  Issue-3  Year-2016         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

The need to encourage practice of preventive dentistry in India is critical because the available resources for health care in India as in most developing countries are insufficient to support the traditional curative care of oro-facial diseases. It is therefore important to study how much value dental professionals place on prevention. Such value will be revealed in their oral self-care behaviours. The aim of the present study was to assess oral self-care behaviours among future dental professionals in Central India. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among dental students of third year, final year and internship of Madhya Pradesh state, India. Questionnaire contains questions regarding personal data, oral hygiene practices, dietary behaviour, tobacco habit and utilization of oral services. Frequency and percentages of responses was calculated. Pearson’s chi-square test was used for further data analysis. Cleaning of teeth twice a day was reported by only 29.39% third year students, 27.99% fourth year students and 24.85% interns. Majority of participants were having between meal sugar consumption ‘thrice or more’ in a day. None of the participants had ever visited a dentist for regular check-up. Oral self-care behaviours of future dental professionals in Central India need to be improved so that they can serve as role model for their patients.

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