International Healthcare Research Journal 2018;2(4):98-102. INTRODUCTION Tobacco is the most usually manhandled sedate on the planet. Tobacco smoking and chewing are the second major causes of death in the world. The tobacco loss of life is relied upon to twofold by 2025 from the present 5 million passing (approx). At each 6.5th second, a man bites the dust on account of a tobacco related ailment, all around. 1 The topic for 'World No Tobacco Day-2008'- Tobacco Free Youth centres around young people and required the development of youth gatherings and mindfulness building. 2 The most powerless time for commencement of tobacco use in India is amid youthfulness and early adulthood i.e., in the age gathering of 15-24 years. 3 Centring the essential counteractive action among youths is fundamental. Adolescence is the stage of transition when they are involved in experimenting with various risk behaviors such as smoking, risky sexual behavior and tobacco, alcohol and drug use. In the meantime, it might be less demanding to incorporate solid practices at a youthful age as opposed to change the conduct at later ages or after the beginning of a sickness. 4 Maintaining oral hygiene is shockingly a standout amongst the most disregarded practice among youth particularly in the underprivileged provincial and urban ghetto networks. The present study was led to discover the predominance of tobacco utilization among young people in urban slum and to assess oral health status among them. MATERIALS AND METHOD The present cross sectional examination was directed among the young people residing in urban slum Basai which is catered by the urban health training centre, SGT Medical College, Gurugram. All adolescents (10-19 years) attending the dental camps organized at urban slum were approached for participation in the study. Those adolescents who gave written informed consent for participation were recruited. In case of adolescents below 18 years, consent was acquired from the accompanying guardian. A total of 130 adolescents were recruited. A predesigned pretested organized poll was utilized for information accumulation. The information which was identified with their socio-statistic qualities and tobacco utilization was gathered from the adolescents. The socioeconomic status of the investigation subjects was resolved according to the modified B.G. Prasad's classification. All participant were subjected to dental examination in a well-lit area. The statistical analysis was completed by using percentage and the Chi square test. Tobacco Use and Oral Health Status among Adolescents in an Urban Slum, Gurugram ORIGINAL RESEARCH A B S T R A C T ISSN: 2456-8090 (online) DOI: 10.26440/IHRJ/02_04/184 VISHESH YADAV 1 , SHALINI RAY 2 , PRIYANKA SACHDEVA 3 , ANKUR BHAGAT 4 QR CODE INTRODUCTION: Tobacco use is one of the main risk factors for number of chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer and oral cancer. Tobacco epidemic is one of the public health threats killing nearly six million people yearly. Tobacco use also contributes to poor oral health causing staining, bad breath and tooth decay. Different studies in India are suggestive of upward trend in use of tobacco even in adolescents. OBJECTIVES: To find the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents in an urban slum and to assess the oral health status among them. METHODOLOGY: This cross sectional study was done as a part of oral health assessment camp conducted in an urban slum. All adolescents attending the camp were recruited in the study after due informed consent, the final sample size being 130. RESULTS: The overall tobacco use among adolescents was found to be 95.8% adolescent boys and 27.6% among adolescent girls. The most common reasons cited for tobacco use were peer pressure followed by parent’s influence. Smokeless tobacco (dry tobacco, lime, guthka) was consumed by 39.13% boys and 19% girls. Smoking was prevalent among 16.7% boys and 8.6% girls. However 41.7 % adolescent boys consumed both forms of tobacco. Prevalence of dental caries was high in both boys (77.7%) and girls (55.2%). The presence of tartar was found in 47.3% boys and 22.4% girls. Bleeding gums was found in more no. of girls (29.3%) as compared to boys (25%). The other morbidities found on examination were ulcer (16.7% boys and 3.5% girls), Oral submucous fibrosis was seen in 27.8% boys and 3.5% girls. CONCLUSION: Appropriate intervention is required as adolescence is a tender period where these risk factors like tobacco consumption and oral hygiene could be modified by awareness and counselling. KEYWORDS: Tobacco, Adolescents, Oral Hygiene 98