European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ASSESSMENT OF THE ABUSED TISSUE RESPONSE IN PATIENTS WITH FAULTY PROSTHESIS MADE BY UNQUALIFIED DENTAL PRACTITIONERS (QUACKS).

Shikha Gautam, BDS, Shuchi Tripathi, MDS, Associate Professor*, Deeksha Arya, MDS, Associate Professor, Rameshwari Singhal, MDS, Associate Professor, Richa Khanna, MDS, Associate Professor and Swapnil Parlani, MDS, Professor

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: In developing country like India, quackery, road-side dental treatment or street dentistry is a problem since decades, mostly practised in rural area. Data on the prevalence of such unethical practice of street dentistry and their harmful side effects are often neglected. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the abused tissue response on patients with faulty prosthesis made by „quacks‟ in patients reporting from rural and urban areas of Uttar Pradesh. Method: Patients with faulty prosthesis visiting the Department of Prosthodontics of the institution were included for the study. A questionnaire was prepared which included patient‟s personal details, history, awareness of the patient regarding dental treatment and clinical examination before and after faulty prosthesis removal. All the data were recorded and statistically analysed using SPSS software. Results: Out of the 80 patients with faulty prosthesis, 74 (92.5%) were unaware about the qualification of the dental practitioners. More than one third of the patients were above 50 years (40%) and 55% of the population belonged to rural areas. Pain during mastication, redness with ulcerations, halitosis, mobility (bone loss) were the chief complaints of these patients. Conclusion: Within the limitation of the study it was found that majority of the patients were suffering from difficulty in mastication, poor oral hygiene, mobility of present teeth, bone loss, ulceration, swelling and caries due to faulty prosthesis. Looking at these severe consequences on patient‟s oral health status, it is necessary to control these kind of mal-practices. Government policies should be made to stop these kind of malpractices.

Keywords: Abused tissue response, Dentistry, Faulty Prosthesis, Quackery.