Background and Objectives: Dental caries is an irretrievable disease, with a likelihood of new lesions that continue to affect humanity. Dental caries or tooth decay is an acquired chronic infective disease process caused by the acidic by-products of bacteria inhabiting organized dental plaque or oral bio-film that, if left uninterrupted, can dissolve or demineralize the enamel surfaces of the teeth. The aim of this study was to assess the dental caries and oral health status of the outdoor patients attending a tertiary care hospital of Northern India.

Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Dentistry, Integral Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Lucknow, India. The study was carried out for a duration of six months from February 2019- July 2019. Data entry and management were carried out using MS excel spreadsheet and software.

Results: Out of total 3743 study subjects, 1775 (47.4%) of the study subjects had dental caries. In females, 52.5% were having dental caries and 47.5% males were suffering with dental caries. Majority of study subjects belonged to the age group equal to or above 12 years, 94.2% of them had caries.

Conclusion: Despite scientific advances and the fact that it is a preventable disease, dental caries continues to be a major public health problem. Implementation of Primary prevention strategies is the need of the hour to reduce the burden of dental caries.

Keywords: Dental caries, oral health status, cross-sectional

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Dr Bharat Bhushan

Associate Professor, Dental Department Govt Medical College Haldwani, India