Dental pain and self-care: a cross-sectional study of people with low socio-economic status residing in rural India.

CONTEXT

Self-care is one of the ways in which people without access to professional care can actively engage in managing their oral health problems.

AIM

To find out the prevalence of dental pain and the type of self-care remedies utilised for pain relief by people with low socio-economic status residing in Kollipara mandal, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional population-based study.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

A multistage simple random-sampling technique was adopted to obtain an appropriate sample. A questionnaire, which consisted of sections on socio-economic and demographic variables, dental pain, pain characteristics and self-care remedies utilised to combat dental pain, was used to collect data. Statistical analysis used the chi-square test and descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The survey covered a total population of 630 individuals. The mean age of the population was 32.8±16.7 years. Among the total study subjects, 44.1% were male and 55.9% were female. The prevalence of dental pain reported during the preceding 6 months was 28.3%. Subjects who experienced dental pain reported the home remedies and self-care methods that they utilised to get relief from the pain. They more frequently reported using over-the-counter medication (49.6%) for pain relief.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides an insight into the type and usage of self-care in relief of dental pain. Pain sufferers used a variety of self-care methods to deal with their problems.