title: Tooth Jewellery- Its Knowledge and Practice Among Dentists in Tricity, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The world of fashion is ever changing and this dynamics applies to dentistry. As dentistry and dental treatments have become necessary facet of a healthy life and therefore down the line fashion prospect of tooth jewellery are also getting fused into it.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the knowledge and practice of tooth jewellery among practicing dentists of Tricity, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 310 dental practitioners in Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula), India. A self-administered, close-ended questionnaire was distributed among all the dental practitioners in order to assess their knowledge and practice regarding tooth jewellery. Responses of the questionnaire was obtained on the dichotomous scale with Yes and No. Right answers were given a score of 2 whereas the wrong answers were given as score of 1. The data was analyzed using unpaired students t-test, one way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and multivariate logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant difference was observed among the genders with males being three times more knowledgeable (OR=3.5, 95%CI: 0.8-2.8). It has been found that knowledge and practice scores of dental practitioners who spend more than 10 hours per day have two times more knowledge (OR= 2.3, 95%CI:0.08-1.1) than others. The dentists holding the masters degree were having three times more knowledge than the graduates' ones (OR= 2.3, 95%C.I:0.1-1.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study concluded that dental practitioners had sufficient knowledge about tooth jewellery. Practice of tooth jewellery in the dental clinics was found to be adequate but it was also associated with some complications. To overcome this, it is advised that professional and government bodies should create strategies for enhancing and improving people's knowledge as well as make them aware of the pros and cons while using tooth jewellery which shall further enhance their smile.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College , Panchkula, Haryana, India .
authors.forename: Sonal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College , Panchkula, Haryana, India .
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Arora
authors.affiliation: Head of Department, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College , Panchkula, Haryana, India .
authors.forename: Nidhi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College , Panchkula, Haryana, India .
authors.forename: Preety
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College , Panchkula, Haryana, India .
authors.forename: Mohit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bansal
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College , Panchkula, Haryana, India .
authors.forename: Sahil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thakar
keywords: Aesthetics; Dental practitioners; Fashion; Tooth gems