Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors in Dental and Oral Health Program Students: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Year 2024, Volume: 51 Issue: 3, 155 - 161

Zeynep Taştan Eroğlu , Tuğçe Yıldız

https://doi.org/10.52037/eads.2024.0025

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the oral health attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of students in dental and oral and dental health programs before and after periodontology clinical training, and to investigate the correlations between these variables and sociodemographic factors.
Materials and Method: In this study conducted at the end of the spring semester in 2022, we utilized the Turkish version of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI). Sociodemographic data, oral hygiene practices, and smoking habits were collected through a questionnaire. Higher HU-DBI scores reflect improved oral health attitudes and behaviors. The data were statistically analyzed with a significance level set at p<0.05.
Results: This study involved 295 students: 151 preclinical dental, 76 clinical dental, 34 preclinical, and 34 clinical oral and dental health program students. Clinical dental students had significantly higher HU-DBI scores (7.25 ± 1.63) than preclinical dental students (6 ± 1.57). No significant difference was found between preclinical (6.38 ± 1.41) and clinical oral and dental health program students (6.62 ± 2.09). Female students had higher HU-DBI scores (p<0.05). No significant correlations were found with other sociodemographic factors, such as parental education, alcohol, or cigarette use.
Conclusion: Integrating preventive dentistry components into the early-stage curriculum may facilitate an earlier enhancement of fundamental knowledge and awareness among future dental professionals, irrespective of sociodemographic factors.

Keywords

dental student, education, health, knowledge, oral hygiene

Ethical Statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate This research, which was approved by Necmettin Erbakan University Dentistry Faculty the Ethics Committee for Non-Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Clinical Research (Decision no: 2022/241), was carried out in line with the guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki, which was revised in 2013. Written and verbal informed consent was acquired from all participants who agreed to participate in the study.

Thanks

We would like to thank Dr. Naci Murat, the founder of https://eistatistik.com, for the statistical analyses of our data.

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