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Dental health care in Bangladesh: Prospects and Challenges

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This study aims to explore the prospects of dental health care in Bangladesh. A quantitative approach has been applied to obtaining the objective of the study. Data have been collected from 385 respondents of various professions through face to face interview. Prospects of dental health care are determined in terms of socio-demographic information of the respondents, facilities of dental health care services, and challenges regarding dental health care services. This study reveals that 22.86% of the respondents completed their secondary education while who are young aged. Most of the respondents (36.36%) are under worker group while 16.36% are craftsman and trader, 22.08% is an employee of various organizations and only a few (10.91%) are not actively participated in the work regularly. The majority (48.57%) of the respondents visited irregular basis while only 3.9% respondent visits regularly. About 90.65% of respondents have visited only emergency basis while only 9.35% visited for a regular checkup. About 40% of respondents are a medium consumer of soft drinks while 39.48% are higher and 8.57% consume soft drinks occasionally. It is mentionable that majority (43.12%) respondents are not a regular consumer of chewing gum which indicates a good habit of the respondent that can protect their dental health. It is also found that the majority (48.83%) of the respondents are using toothbrush while 25.71% using a chewing stick and 25.45% are using a finger for cleaning their teeth. An awareness building program should be triggered to develop awareness about dental health care services. It will reduce dental health related problems and saves thousands of people from serious health diseases.
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ARTICLE
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ANALYSIS
Dental health care in Bangladesh: Prospects and
Challenges
Shahin Zerin Mostarin1, Priscilla Khyang2, Snigdha Rani Roy3
This study aims to explore the prospects of dental health care in Bangladesh. A quantitative approach has been applied to obtaining
the objective of the study. Data have been collected from 385 respondents of various professions through face to face interview.
Prospects of dental health care are determined in terms of socio-demographic information of the respondents, facilities of dental
health care services, and challenges regarding dental health care services. This study reveals that 22.86% of the respondents
completed their secondary education while who are young aged. Most of the respondents (36.36%) are under worker group while
16.36% are craftsman and trader, 22.08% is an employee of various organizations and only a few (10.91%) are not actively
participated in the work regularly. The majority (48.57%) of the respondents visited irregular basis while only 3.9% respondent visits
regularly. About 90.65% of respondents have visited only emergency basis while only 9.35% visited for a regular checkup. About 40%
of respondents are a medium consumer of soft drinks while 39.48% are higher and 8.57% consume soft drinks occasionally. It is
mentionable that majority (43.12%) respondents are not a regular consumer of chewing gum which indicates a good habit of the
respondent that can protect their dental health. It is also found that the majority (48.83%) of the respondents are using toothbrush
while 25.71% using a chewing stick and 25.45% are using a finger for cleaning their teeth. An awareness building program should be
triggered to develop awareness about dental health care services. It will reduce dental health related problems and saves thousands
of people from serious health diseases.
INTRODUCTION
Dental health is a vital sign of oral health; happiness and value of life.
Oral cavity ailment is the majority of an infectious syndrome that affects
the lives of citizens and causes pain, uneasiness, irregularity, and demise
(Halawany et al., 2017). The worldwide ailment diagnosis in 2016
estimates that oral cavity infection affects half of the global population
(3.58 billion people) (World Bank, 2019). In some Asian-Pacific
countries, some oral cancer (oral cavity and cavity) are among the three
cancers (Singhal et al., 2013).
The expenditure on dental care is typically 5 percent of the total cost
of health care and 20 percent of pocket health expenses (Mazid &
Rashid, 2011). In Bangladesh, more than 80 percent of people have at
least one or more oral cavity or dental problems (McDonald et al.,
2005). Communities in rural areas do not know the purity of their
mouths. Usually, they use sticks of Neem, ash to clean their teeth in the
morning. in view of the fact that there are no dental clinic in the village,
oral cavity patients should return to the upazila health center for their
immediate medical attention (Nasrin et al., 2019; Sarker et al., 2019;
Sarker et al., 2019; Amin et al., 2018; Sarker et al., 2018). In the existing
medical institutions, it is very difficult to provide conservative and
artificial treatments to farmers (Sarker et al., 2018). So after teeth loss,
most of them live without using prosthesis. Most parents in Bangladesh
often disregard the care and care of the baby or the baby because these
teeth are temporary and replaced by permanent teeth. If there is a loss of
pre-breast milk, it will be difficult to chew it.
The number of dentist is lower than requirements in Bangladesh. In
fact, 0.2 million natives have dentists. Oral health care in Bangladesh is
done by a general practitioner in a district sanatorium. Here, the dental
unit is presented for negligible operations, periodontal and conservative
handling like taking out of teeth, scaling, filling, etc (Rahman et al.,
2018; Islam et al., 2018; Islam et al., 2018; Khan et al., 2018). It makes
the teeth of all patients free of charge. There is also a private dental
clinic where dental care is done. Large business and trade organizations
have their own dental surgeons. In rural areas, there is no regular dental
treatment, except for volunteer tooth camps in some places (Khan et al.,
2018; Prodhan et al., 2017; Sarker et al., 2017).
Many people living in Bangladesh have a habit of chewing the
leaves and betel leaf without the knowledge of its adverse effects. That
is why, it is very important to know the effects of the above leaves on
the human body and the oral health system (Chhabra & Chhabra, 2012).
Betel nuts have aricolin, tannin, alkaloid, and other stuff. Aricolin is
almost as nicotine in cigarettes which makes inflammation of the
mucous membranes and increases breathing. Acid breaks out of the
stomach by chewing betel leaves make Alkaline heavily damaged. The
oils contained in the betel leaf make the tongue less sensitive. Basically,
balsam plays a role as a stimulant (Andås & Hakeberg, 2014). Those
who accept the first leaf can have dizziness. Habitual and extreme use of
ANALYSIS 55(280), April 1, 2019
DISCOVERY
ISSN
22785469
EISSN
22785450
1Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), Dhaka Dental College,
Bangladesh, Email: jerindnj@gmail.com; 2Department of Oral & Maxillofacial
Surgery (OMS), Dhaka Dental College, Bangladesh; 3Department of Oral &
Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), Dhaka Dental College, Bangladesh;
Corresponding Author:
Shahin Zerin Mostarin; Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS), Dhaka
Dental College, Bangladesh; Email: jerindnj@gmail.com; Contact: 8801716872870
© 2019 Discovery Publication. All Rights Reserved. www.discoveryjournals.org OPEN ACCESS
ARTICLE
Page138
ANALYSIS
betel leaves lessens the flavor of the oral cavity. Some reactions have
been found on the teeth and oral health due to leaf-eating. Tartars are
fashioned at the roots of the teeth, which causing gum troubles. In many
cases, bones with dental roots are subsequently separated. As a result,
the teeth are stubborn and have a tooth loss. In some cases, the oral
gland is found to be affected by the depletion of the anemia (Singhal et
al., 2016).
Few studies have been focused the various issues of oral health
(Chhabra & Chhabra, 2012; Singhal et al., 2016; Khatun et al., 2014;
Mazid & Rashid, 2011) but almost no study focus the prospects and
challenges of dental health care services in Bangladesh. Therefore, this
study aims to explore the prospects of dental health care in Bangladesh
focusing on challenges and opportunities. The findings of the study will
be helpful for policymakers and dental health care related stakeholders
to understand the status of the prospects of dental health in Bangladesh
to make proper policy for improving the services at field level.
METHODOLOGY
Study Design
The present study was adopted as a quantitative oriented qualitative
mixed approach. Data had been collected from Mirpur in Dhaka city
focusing dental college students, dental college teachers, practitioners
and patients.
Sampling and Data Collection
Data was collected from Mirpur-14 in Dhaka city from Dental college
students, dental college teachers, practitioners, and patients. The
population size was 1385, among them 10% i.e. 385 respondents were
selected as sample. The random sampling method was followed to
collect data from the respondents. Data was collected from a pre-
designed interview schedule. The interview schedule was piloted by 20
respondents for checking its accuracy and avoiding any unnecessary
items from the questionnaire. The interview schedule was finalized after
pilot testing.
Data Processing and Analyze
Data were analyzed according to research objectives. Descriptive
statistics was done to describe the variables properly. Data was corrected
and verified on a regular basis which helps the research team to remove
errors and inconsistencies. SPSS version 20.0 was used for statistical
analysis.
Ethical Consideration
Verbal ethical consent was obtained from the ethical committee of
college authority. A consent form was also given to each respondent for
getting their consent before face to face interview.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results and discussion section is presented into four sub-sections;
first, socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents; second,
prospects of dental health care in Bangladesh; third, challenges of dental
health care in Bangladesh and fourth, implications for policy
recommendations.
Socio-Demographic Information of the Respondents
The study selected five demographic characteristics of viz. Age,
education, own occupation, income, and family size which will help to
focus the socio-demographic status of the respondents (Chhabra &
Chhabra, 2012). The study reveals that most of the respondents are
under young aged ranging from 20 to 35 years. Only 17.4% of the
respondents are more than 40 years. Similar results found by some
researchers in other studies (Sarker, 2016a; Sultana et al., 2017; Sarker,
2016b; Nasrin et al., 2019). The study explores that 22.86% of the
respondents completed their secondary education while 14.68%
completed higher secondary, 11.17% completed bachelor and 22.08%
completed their master degree. This study is also found that respondents
are under various professions like a housewife, businessman,
government service holders, non-government service holders, garments
worker, teacher and others (Khatun et al., 2014). Most of the
respondents (38.96%) are garments worker while 14.29% housewife,
7.79% businessman, 8.57% government service holders, 17.40% NGO
service holders, 6.49% teachers and 6.49% other professions. Similarly,
this study also assesses the income level of the respondents and reveals
that most of the respondents (38.96%) having BDT 600 to BDT 8000
while 17.4% having less than BDT5000 and 15.58% having more than
BDT15000. This study also computes the family size of the respondents
and explores that 63.38% of respondents having a nuclear family while
26.49% having joint and 9.35% having extended family.
Dental Health Care Services in Bangladesh
The study assesses the dental health care services in terms of the socio-
professional group, dental check-up durations, dental visit pattern and
reasons for dental visits (Khatun et al., 2014). This study reveals that
most of the respondents (36.36%) are under worker group while 16.36%
are craftsman and trader, 22.08% is an employee of various
organizations and only a few (10.91%) are not actively participated in
the work regularly. The study also explores that most of the respondent
51.69% checkup their dental health within less than 2 years and rest
48.31% done their dental health checkup more than 2 years ago.
Similarly, this study also analyzed dental specialist visit pattern of the
respondents and reveals that the majority (48.57%) of the respondents
visited irregular basis while only 3.9% respondent visits regularly.
About 27.53% of the respondents never visited dental health care
specialist which focuses on the deem prospects of the dental health care
in Bangladesh. It indicates that a mentionable portion (27.53%) is not
aware of dental health care. The study also explores that 90.65%
respondent is visited only emergency basis while only 9.35% visited for
a regular checkup.
Challenges of Dental Health Care in Bangladesh
The study assesses the challenges of dental health care in Bangladesh in
terms of reasons of not bearing the treatment cost, the frequency of soft
drink intake, the frequency of enjoying chewing gum, a tooth cleaning
device and brushing frequency (Khatun et al., 2014). This study reveals
that having not enough money is the main reason (63.9%) for not taking
dental treatment while 26.49% having no self-willingness and 9.61%
having lack of knowledge. About 40% of respondents are a medium
consumer of soft drinks while 39.48% are higher and 8.57% consume
soft drinks occasionally. Similarly, 17.4% of the respondents having a
high level of the consumer of chewing gum while 20.78% are medium
and 18.70% is a low consumer. It is mentionable that majority (43.12%)
respondents are not a regular consumer of chewing gum which indicates
a good habit of the respondent that can protect their dental health. It is
found that majority (48.83%) of the respondents are using toothbrush
while 25.71% using a chewing stick and 25.45% are using a finger for
cleaning their teeth. This study also explores brushing frequency and
reveals that 83.12% of respondents are doing brushing regularly while
11.69% doing 2 to 6 times a week and 5.19% are seldom users. It
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Page139
ANALYSIS
Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
Category
Respondent
number
Percentage (%)
20-30
130
33.77
31-35
83
21.56
36-40
45
11.69
More than 40
67
17.40
S.S.C
88
22.86
H.S.C
95
24.68
Bachelor
43
11.17
Masters
85
22.08
Can only read or write
14
3.64
Cannot read or write
60
15.58
Housewife
55
14.29
Businessman
30
7.79
Govt. services
33
8.57
N.G.O Services
67
17.40
Garments worker
150
38.96
Teacher
25
6.49
Others
25
6.49
<5,000 BDT
67
17.40
(6,000-8,000) BDT
150
38.96
(9,000-11,000) BDT
53
13.77
(12,000-14,000) BDT
55
14.29
>15,000Tk.
60
15.58
Nuclear
244
63.38
Joint
102
26.49
Extended
36
9.35
Others
3
0.78
Source: Field survey
Table 2 Prospects of dental health care in Bangladesh
Characteristics
Category
Respondent number
Percentage (%)
Socio-professional group
Craftsman, trader
63
16.36
Employee
85
22.08
Worker
140
36.36
Has never worked
42
10.91
Last dental check-up
Within 2 years
199
51.69
More than 2 years ago
186
48.31
Dental visit pattern
Regular (>once a year)
15
3.90
Irregular (<once a year)
187
48.57
Do not remember
77
20.00
Never
106
27.53
Reasons for dental visit
Emergency
349
90.65
Check-up
36
9.35
Source: Field visit
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ANALYSIS
Table 3 Challenges of Dental Health care in Bangladesh
Challenges of Dental Health care
Category
Respondent
number
Percentage (%)
Reasons for not bearing the treatment
cost
Don’t have enough money
246
63.90
Self-willingness
102
26.49
Lack of knowledge
37
9.61
The frequency of soft drinks intake
High (>once a day)
152
39.48
Medium (once a day)
154
40.00
Low (<once a day)
46
11.95
Seldom/never
33
8.57
The frequency of chewing gum
High (>once a day)
67
17.40
Medium (once a day)
80
20.78
Low (<once a day)
72
18.70
Seldom/never
166
43.12
Tooth-cleaning device
Toothbrush
188
48.83
Chewing stick
99
25.71
Finger
98
25.45
Brushing frequency
High (≥once a day)
320
83.12
Moderate (2-6 t/week)
45
11.69
Seldom/never
20
5.19
Source: Field survey
indicates that a good habit of the respondents to their brushing
frequency. Similar findings obtained by Khatun et al. (2014) and
Singhal et al. (2016)
Policy Implications
The results of this research suggest the following policies for enhancing
dental health care services for people that secure their dental health.
An awareness building program should be triggered to develop
awareness about dental health care services. It will reduce dental
health related problems and saves thousands of people from serious
health diseases.
The study reveals that a majority of the people do not visit the dental
specialist which indicates that the facilities of dental health services
are not available to general people. So, government initiative is
necessary to overcome the situation in maintaining better dental health
in Bangladesh.
It is also found that educated peoples are also not aware of the dental
health related problems which indicate a lacking of knowledge
regarding dental health in the education system. So, dental health-
related basic knowledge should be included in the academic syllabus
so that student can learn from their childhood.
The number of dental specialists is not enough in terms of the number
of patients so government’s initiatives are necessary to produce more
dental graduates through establishing a specialized educational
institution.
The fee for dental treatment is so high and out of the low-income
people so a monitoring task force is necessary to launch crackdown
for reducing the treatment cost under people’s ability.
CONCLUSION
The study explores that 22.86% of the respondents completed their
secondary education while who are young aged. Most of the respondents
(38.96%) are garments worker while 14.29% housewife, 7.79%
businessman, 8.57% government service holders, 17.40% NGO service
holders, 6.49% teachers and 6.49% other professions. Most of the
respondents (36.36%) are under worker group while 16.36% are
craftsman and trader, 22.08% is an employee of various organizations
and only a few (10.91%) are not actively participated in the work
regularly. The majority (48.57%) of the respondents visited irregular
basis while only 3.9% respondent visits regularly. About 90.65% of
respondents have visited only emergency basis while only 9.35% visited
for a regular checkup. About 40% of respondents are a medium
consumer of soft drinks while 39.48% are higher and 8.57% consume
soft drinks occasionally. Similarly, 17.4% of the respondents having a
high level of the consumer of chewing gum while 20.78% are medium
and 18.70% is a low consumer. It is mentionable that majority (43.12%)
respondents are not a regular consumer of chewing gum which indicates
a good habit of the respondent that can protect their dental health. It is
also found that the majority (48.83%) of the respondents are using
toothbrush while 25.71% using a chewing stick and 25.45% are using a
finger for cleaning their teeth. An awareness building program should be
triggered to develop awareness about dental health care services. It will
reduce dental health related problems and saves thousands of people
from serious health diseases. The number of dental specialists is not
enough in terms of the number of patients so government’s initiatives
are necessary to produce more dental graduates through establishing a
specialized educational institution. The fee for dental treatment is so
high and out of the low-income people so a monitoring task force is
necessary to launch crackdown for reducing the treatment cost under
people’s ability.
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Article Keywords
Dental, maxillofacial, oral health, public health, Bangladesh
Authors’ contributions
All authors contributed equally from research design to manuscript
preparation. All authors checked the final manuscript and approved for
publication.
Disclosures about potential conflict of interests
All the authors declare that there is no potential conflict of interest among
the authors.
Further information
No funding is received for this study.
Article History
Received: 22 January 2019
Accepted: 8 March 2019
Published: 1 April 2019
Citation
Shahin Zerin Mostarin, Priscilla Khyang, Snigdha Rani Roy. Dental health
care in Bangladesh: Prospects and Challenges. Discovery, 2019, 55(280),
137- 141
Publication License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License.
General Note
Article is recommended to print as color digital version in recycled
paper. Save trees, save nature
... Very few studies were found on the usage of toothbrushes in the Asian region, especially in Bangladesh. A recent study has shown that the brushing habits of the Bangladeshi people are very poor and inefficient; about 25.45% people use toothbrushes (mostly classic ones), about use chewing sticks, and about people still are in the habit of using fingers to clean their teeth [8]. The emerging market for toothbrushes in 2014 also showed the maximum sale of manual toothbrushes in Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India [7]. ...
... About 90% of dental and gum diseases are caused because of inefficient and incorrect brushing practice [8]. Though the recommended time for brushing teeth is 2 to 4 minutes (120 to 240 seconds), the average time of brushing is about 1 minute (60 seconds) [8,12,13]. ...
... About 90% of dental and gum diseases are caused because of inefficient and incorrect brushing practice [8]. Though the recommended time for brushing teeth is 2 to 4 minutes (120 to 240 seconds), the average time of brushing is about 1 minute (60 seconds) [8,12,13]. The main reasons for inefficient brushing are poor knowledge, incognizance, tiredness, discomfort, inefficient brushing, damaged or inefficient design of bristle, dexterity, sensitivity, no tracking of time or pressure, and choice of wrong toothbrushes. ...
... The prevalence of dental problems in this study may possibly be underreported due to limited oral health awareness and infrequent dental screening. Studies conducted in India, Bangladesh, China, and Thailand found that there was a lack of understanding of the importance of oral health and a general sense of poor oral health literacy among the participants in these studies (Harirugsakul et al., 2021;Mahmud et al., 2016;Mostarin et al., 2019;Rodrigues et al., 2021;Zhou et al., 2018). In addition, dental services are currently not covered under PCP, although a few charity organisations offer subsidised dental services for migrant workers (HealthServe 2023; St. Andrew's Mission Hospital 2022). ...
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