Assessment of oral health among seafarers in Mundra Port, Kutch, Gujarat: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Seafarer is a person who navigates waterborne vessels or assists as a crewmember in their operation and maintenance in all tough weather, but little research has been done to identify conditions that may lead to assess seafarer general health as well as oral health.

Aim: To assess oral diseases including dental caries and periodontal conditions among seafarer’s population arrived in Mundra Port, Kutch, Gujarat, India.

Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess oral health condition of seafarer community of Mundra Taluka of Kutch District, Gujarat, India, from July 2014 to September 2014.

Results: Total of 385 subjects participated in the survey. Adverse habits show the overall 72.3% prevalence among the study population. Occurrence rate of caries, periodontal disease and prosthetic status were 88%, 75.1% and 6.5%, respectively. The best predictors for Decayed Missing Filled Teeth (DMFT), Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and prosthetic status were oral hygiene practices, adverse habit and educational status.

Conclusions: Findings of the present study suggest that oral health condition of seafarer community was relatively poor, with high caries prevalence and poor periodontal health. This epidemiological survey has provided baseline information to underpin the implementation of oral health programmes.