Assessing the influence of culture on oralhealth-a review Dr. Jain Swati*, Post Graduate Student, Dr. Singla Ashish, Senior Lecturer, Dr. Basavaraj P., Prof.& Head, Dr. Kundu Hansa, Post Graduate Student, Dr. Singh Khushboo, Post Graduate student, Dr. Singh Shilpi, Senior Lecturer Dept. of Public Health Dentistry, D.J. College of Dental Sciences and Research, Modinagar *Address For Correspondance: Dr. Swati Jain, 108-c pocket -4 Mayur Vihar, Phase -1, Delhi
Online published on 19 August, 2014. Abstract Man is a social animal, influenced by physical, biological and social environment. This social world of an individual is further influenced by culture. Cultural factors in health and disease have engaged the attention of medical scientists and Sociologists. These include concept of etiology and cure based cultural beliefs, habits, adverse oral habits like eating arecanut and pan chewing, parental influence, marriage-practices, rural –urban influence, social class, urban/rural society, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, geographic location, religion, familial influence, gender and cultural taboos. All these factors influence oral health as well and may have an effect on the occurrence, outcome and prognosis of many oral diseases. This review article assesses the influence of culture on oral health which will help us to understand the etiology as well as decide upon the treatment options for various oral diseases. Top Keywords Culture, cultural anthropology, health and disease, oral health. Top |