Prevalence of Dental Caries and Periodontal Disease among Transgenders in Belagavi District, Karnataka, India: A Cross-sectional Study.

AIM To assess the oral health practices and the prevalence of dental caries, and periodontal disease among transgenders. METHODS AND RESULTS The study was conducted on a sample of 180 participants from the transgender community in Belagavi district over a course of two months. A trained and calibrated examiners recorded oral health status according to WHO dentition status and treatment needs (1997) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI) under the supervision of the subject expert. Chi-square test, spearman's rank correlation coefficient test, multiple linear regression and logistic regression were applied. The statistical significance was set at p ≤ .05 for all the tests. The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease among transgenders was 72.2% and 92.2%, respectively. A positive linear correlation and a significant relationship was found between the oral hygiene practices/deleterious habits and dental caries among the transgenders. Multiple linear regression model revealed that the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease was significantly associated with age and oral hygiene practices. CONCLUSION The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases among transgenders was high. These results may be of use to promote oral health promotion and establishing a paradigm for dentists to work toward improving oral health.