Background Oral diseases are one of the major public health problems worldwide and affect the population of all age groups. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of caregivers at care centres and boarding religious schools responsible for managing children’s oral health. Methods A qualitative ethnomethodological approach was used to collect data from the caregivers at the children’s religious schools and foster care centres. A purposive sampling technique was used to conduct focus group discussions comprising 4–7 caregivers from five foster care centres and religious schools located in Lahore, Pakistan. An interview guide was developed based on results from previous studies. An inductive approach was used to analyse data on broader oral health concepts to generate themes in this qualitative research. A three-step thematic analysis was applied to develop codes that were merged to generate categories and to conclude into themes from the transcribed data. Five focus group discussions were conducted at two foster care centres (FG1 & FG2) and three religious schools (FG3, FG4 & FG5). Foster care centres had children of both gender within the same premises; however, religious schools had segregated settings. Results The following four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: development of the desired living environment and responsibilities of the caregivers, preexisting traditional personal knowledge of the caregivers determine children’s oral health, use of religio-cultural driven and convenience-based oral hygiene practices, and ethnomedicine, spiritual healing, and self-medication. Development and the existing living environment of the foster care centres and religious schools appeared important to manage the matters of the boarding children. Conclusions This qualitative study concludes that the oral health of the children at foster care centres and at religious schools depends upon the personal reasoning and pre-existing religio-cultural knowledge of the caregivers rather than on specialized oral health-oriented approaches. The foster care centres are more involved in supervising the children to maintain oral hygiene and oral health compared to religious schools.
Background: Oral diseases are one of the major public health problems worldwide which are affecting the population of all age groups. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of caregivers at the care centers managing children’s oral health.Methods: A qualitative ethnomethodological approach was used to collect data from the caregivers at the child healthcare centers. A convenience sampling technique was used to conduct focus group discussions comprised of 4-7 caregivers from five foster care centers located in Lahore, Pakistan. An inductive-deductive approach was used to generate data by using a semi-structured interview guide. A three steps thematic analysis was applied to develop codes that were merged to generate categories and to conclude into themes from the transcribed data.Results: Five focus group discussions were conducted at two foster care homes (FG1 & FG2) and three madrasas (FG3, FG4 & FG5). Foster care homes had children of both genders within the same premises, however, madrasas had segregated settings. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis providing a thick description of foster caregivers to maintain the oral health of the children. Children induction policy outlines the foster care environment and caregivers' perceived oral health severity defines their hygienic practices A socially conducive oral health knowledge, and integrative medicinal approach to treat oral health issues were evaluated.Conclusions: This qualitative study provided a multidimensional assessment of foster caregivers to maintain children’s oral health. With stringent induction policies, the foster care centers had better control over the children to maintain healthy oral health practices. Fostercare givers perceived severity about oral health issues and type of fostercare center defines the hygienic and medicinal practices.
Aim: To find out the prevalence and patterns of tori in edentulous patients and determine their association with gender and age. Study design: A cross-sectional observational study. Place and duration: Prosthodontic Department of Islamic International Dental College, Islamabad from 1st September 2021 to 1st December 2021. Methodology: A total of 165 edentulous patients of both genders were selected using non-probability purposive sampling. After collecting demographic data, intra-oral examination was carried out. Maxillary and mandibular stone casts were made after taking alginate impressions. Sharp graphite pencil was used to mark torus mandibularis and torus palatinus and the stone casts were carefully analyzed for size, shape and location of tori. Results: Total prevalence of tori in present study was 11.5%. 7.7% males and 14.9% female patients reported having tori. No gender association with tori existence found; p>0.05. Maximum number of tori reported in age group 71-80 years (21.4%). Chi square test showed association of tori presence with age; p <0.05. The flat and spindle shaped tori were (1.2%) whereas lobular and nodular shaped accounted for 1(0.6%) torus palatinus. The prevalence of small sized tori was mostly reported (7.9%). Unilateral single tori were frequently found (6.7%). Conclusion: The prevalence of tori occurrence in edentulous patients is low. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of tori among male and female patients however tori exitance increases with increasing age. Key words: Torus Palatinus, Torus Mandibularis, frequency, edentulous, prevalence.
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