Dental Knowledge and Awareness of Oral Hygiene among Medical Undergraduates at a Tertiary Care Hospital

An increasing proportion of the population is medically compromised. Dental & medical staff need to communicate and cooperate to render these patients the best possible health care.

The aim of this survey was to investigate the level of dental knowledge and awareness of oral care habits in undergraduate medical students from three clinical years of the medical curriculum.

A cross sectional study was conducted and the data was recorded through a close ended structured and self administered questionnaire consisting of socio demographic data, questions on dental knowledge and awareness of oral hygiene habits in a small group of pre-doctoral students of M.B.B.S at S.S. Medical College, Rewa.

130 students participated in the survey who returned completed questionnaires after answering, with a high response rate (98.4%). Three-fourths (73%) of the subjects were females. 97% of the under graduates believed that removal of a tooth causes no ill effects on vision. 90% of the students were rightly aware of the fact that dental caries was the most common oral disease and most of them responded well on questions regarding prevention and treatment of dental caries. 93.8% students considered tooth brushing as the most effective cleaning aid and 73.8% of the participants believed that brushing should be done after every meal. 93.8% subjects recommended 6 monthly dental check ups.

In general, students had a moderate level of dental knowledge and reported good oral hygiene habits. Findings justify the inclusion of oral health in medical curriculum.