Oral health attitude among dental students - A research study

Dentist occupy an important position in society as licensed health care workers and so it is critical to evaluate dental students learning about self-care regimens such as oral health attitudes and behavior if they are to serve as positive role models. The aim of this study was to know the changes in the attitudes and behaviors of dental students toward their oral health during their dental education. A total of 430 students were invited to participate and the differences in response among various years and gender were assessed using chi-square test and data were tabulated and analysed. Majority of the preclinical students believed its impossible to prevent gum disease with tooth brushing alone, avoided visiting dentist unless having a tooth ache, reported that they have never been taught professionally how to brush their teeth and less often used disclosing solutions to see how clean their teeth were compared to the clinical students. Results of this study showed that the students oral health behavior and attitude improved with increasing level of dental education. This study provides valuable baseline information that will allow comparison of dental students oral health awareness in various schools curriculam.