Oral Health Trends and Service Utilization at Government General Hospital, Yanam: A Retrospective Study

Abstract Introduction: Quality of life and overall health are dependent on oral health. In every country, the public health issues brought on by dental disorders are extremely problematic. The study aims to evaluate the trends and dental service utilization of patients attending the hospital. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using data from the clinical records of 12 months at a Government General Hospital in Yanam and was analyzed using descriptive statistics with Chi-square and set P value at ≤0.05. Results: A total of 6734 patients attended dental OPD, of which males and females were 42.49%, and 57.51%, respectively. 4974 (73.86%) patients were diagnosed with dental caries, of which 40.7% were male and 59.3% were female. A total of 480 patients had permanent restorative treatment, among them 247 (51.5%) males and 233 (48.5%) females. Conclusion: This study revealed dental caries prevalence is a serious health issue that the public faces and moderate utilization of dental services among the Yanam people, and there is a need for oral health awareness followed by periodic screening and preventive approach in the population through more frequent outreach visits of dental teams in the community.