A Comparison of Oral Health Related Knowledge between Undergraduate Medical and Dental Students

Abstract

Aim: Studies have reported that the knowledge of medical doctors about dental conditions is not satisfactory. Medical and dental students need to have and reflect good oral health knowledge as they will be major providers of health services in future. This study was conducted to assess and compare the level of oral health knowledge of medical and dental students. Materials and Methods: Using a self-administered structured questionnaire, cross-sectional study was conducted at King Faisal University University, Saudi Arabia. The survey tool consisting of 25 items assessed knowledge about oral health problems, etiology and importance in relation to general health. Descriptive statistics were performed using SPSS version 20. Results: Medical students exhibited a good level of oral health knowledge on 16 (64%) items, whereas dental students demonstrated on 18 items (72%) (p=0.02). In both streams, male students displayed a good level of knowledge on 17 items, while female displayed on 11 items. Mean score of male students to all the questions was 80.68% and that of females was 66.96% (p=0.001). Dental students scored marginally better than medical students for 14 out of 25 items, and mean scores was insignificant between medical and dental students (p=0.21). Students of years 2, 3 and 4 displayed better knowledge compared to those from years 1 and 5 (p=0.001). Students from any particular year did not seem to be having consistently better knowledge than the other years across all the items. Conclusion: This study showed a moderate to good level of knowledge about oral health. Dental students and men displayed somewhat better knowledge levels compared to medical students and women, respectively. Clinical Significance: This study highlights the importance of scientific oral health knowledge for the future health care professionals. Objective is to draw attention towards incorporation of preventive oral health sciences in medical curriculum at undergraduate level.