Dental knowledge and behavior among technical medical institute students in Baghdad governorate

Abstract

Background: Oral health knowledge is important for promotion and maintenance of oral health. This study aims to find out the difference in oral health knowledge and behavior of medical and dental students in technical medical institute in Baghdad governorate. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire survey was carried on 202 Iraqi students in technical medical institute of Bab Al-Muadam quadrant in Baghdad governorate (92 dental students and 110 medical students). Students were invited to complete a set of questionnaires on dental knowledge and behaviors that are related to oral hygiene and dental visits. Results: Highly significant differences were shown between medical and dental students related to dental knowledge, dental students were found to have more dental knowledge than medical students. Concerning the typical method for caries prevention, 90.2% of dental students compared to 35.5% of medical one were aware that brushing regularly, minimizing sweets, visiting the dentist and the use of fluoride are all effective means of avoiding caries. For oral hygiene behavior, dental students were practicing twice daily tooth brushing, flossing and rinsing in a proportion greater than medical students. Irregular visits to the dentist were found to be common among both medical and dental students and toothache was the major factor for dental visits in both groups. The lecturers were found to be the most effective source of dental information for dental students, while the most effective source of information for medical students was the family. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that knowledge and behavior toward oral health and dental care especially for the medical students need to be improved and there is a need for inclusion of oral health education in the medical curriculum.