Assessment of Periodontal Health Literacy, Stress, Habits and Periodontal Treatment Anxiety Among Corporate Sector Employees- A questionnaire survey

Introduction: Maintaining good oral hygiene is a fundamental requirement that has been vital to humans since ancient times. It is a clear reflection of overall health and well-being, regardless of one's social status. Periodontal health is supported by healthy behaviours such as practising regular plaque control on your own and refraining from using tobacco and stress coping mechanisms. Inadequate oral hygiene, tobacco use, and stress, on the other hand, are shown to have a destructive impact on periodontal tissues. In today’s erratic lifestyle, it is common to ignore one’s physical, psychological and emotional well-being. This questionnaire survey provides insight towards the knowledge and awareness of corporate sector employees on periodontal health and treatment. Objective: This survey aimed to assess periodontal health literacy, stress, habits and periodontal treatment anxiety among corporate sector employees using an online questionnaire survey. Methodology: An online questionnaire survey consisting of 20 questions was conducted between October and December 2023. The study involved 200 participants (corporate employees). An Independent Chi-square test was used to compare the periodontal health literacy, stress, habits and periodontal treatment anxiety among corporate sector employees based on the sociodemographic & work-based characteristics of the study respondents. Results: Overall, 200 participants of this study demonstrated major findings such as 73.8% of them were not confident in smiling, 51% visited the dentist once in 1-2 years, and only 45 % would prefer going to a dentist in case of bleeding gums and loose teeth. Conclusion: Oral hygiene maintenance should be incorporated into the corporate sector by more awareness drives. Habit counseling should also be planned together with stress coping workshops.