查看文章

Aim

To determine the factors related to utilization of dental services in a field practice area in Mangalore, Karnataka.

Materials and Methods

A house-to-house survey was conducted in the field practice area of Jeppinamogaru, Mangalore, Karnataka where dental services are provided for free of cost. The area consisted of 600 houses as stated in voter's list provided by the Gram Panchayat. A pilot study was conducted on 20 houses to test the feasibility of the study. Random sampling was done and 175 houses were selected. After obtaining consent, questionnaires were distributed to 195 adults above 18 years residing in the selected house to assess their dental utilization behavior. The questionnaires were collected after three days. A total of 182 completed questionnaires were received from 158 houses. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Chi square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for comparison of …