Assessment of knowledge and usage of interdental aids among clinical dental students of a Neo capital region: A cross sectional survey

Abstract

Brief Background - Dental floss is highly recommended interdental aid for tight contacts. Interdental brushes, on the other hand, are used for wider interdental spaces. Both the American Dental Association and the British Dental Association recommend using dental floss on a daily basis in conjunction to tooth brushing. The fact that dentists and clinical students do not routinely recommend dental floss to every patient can be attributed to a lack of emphasis on the subject in the dental curriculum. Hence this study was conducted with a purpose to assess the knowledge and use of interdental aids among clinical dental students. Materials and Methods - A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey consisting of 12 questions was carried out among third year, final-year students and interns of the dental institution in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Descriptive statistics were computed. Results - 19.3% of clinical dental students are unaware of any interdental aids. 51.4% stated that they are familiar with both dental floss and interdental brushes. According to 88.6% of those surveyed interdental aids should be utilized atleast once a week together with the toothpaste. Only a small proportion of students(15.7%) thought that regularly passing was required. Interdental aids are exclusively recommended to patients who have food impaction by the students, not to all patients. Conclusions - The study concluded that 92.1% of dental students are aware that interdental aids have a positive impact in the dental practice; yet they do not recommend them to every patient and do not use them themselves. Key Words - Dental floss, Dental students, Interdental, Tooth brush