Knowledge and awareness about dentistry among medical students, residents, and medical practitioners in Bhairahawa city, Nepal

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Introduction:

Oral health is considered to be a mirror of systemic health and vice-versa. Medical professionals are considered to be the primary caregivers in a given population and as such a vast majority of the population visits them for health-related problems. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of dentistry among first-year medical students, residents, and medical practitioners.

Methods:

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out to assess the knowledge and awareness of dentistry among MBBS first-year students, medical residents, and medical practitioners of Bhairahawa city, Nepal. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 11.

Results:

As per the demographic characteristics out of 147 subjects 82 (55.8%) were male and 65 (44.2%) were female. Most of the participants were from the age group of 21–30 years, 66 (44.9%) and 115 (78.2%) of them were married. Among 147 subjects every respondent (100%) knew about the profession of dentistry giving statistically significant results.

Conclusion:

The present study shows that medical professionals had better knowledge of dentistry as compared to medical students and residents. This unnecessary gap between dental and medical professionals can only be fulfilled by including dental education in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculum.

Related collections

Most cited references 16

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Assessment of the oral health behavior, knowledge and status among dental and medical undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study

Ke Yao, Yufei Yao, Xin Shen … (2019)

Background It is widely accepted that oral health plays an important role in overall health. Both dental and medical students are expected to possess good oral health awareness and work together for public oral health promotion especially in developing countries like China. The aim of this study was to assess the oral health knowledge, behavior and status of dental and medical undergraduate students in the first (fresh) and third year (before specialized courses) study. Methods A self-administered structured questionnaire with 13 questions was designed based on oral health knowledge, behavior and status and a cross-sectional study was conducted among the 1st, 3rd year dental students (1DS, 3DS) and medical students (1MS, 3MS) of Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, in the period of September–December 2017. The data was analyzed by chi-square test using IBM SPSS Statistics v. 21.0. Results The oral health behavior, consciousness and status of the 1st, 3rd year medical and dental students were not optimistic. Dental freshmen were slightly superior to the medical ones in terms of the brushing methods and the awareness of oral disease-systemic disease relationship. The junior dental students showed highly significant improvement than their counterparts, mainly in the items about frequency of brushing teeth, brushing methods of vertical scrub or Bass technique (66.3%), usage of floss or mouth wash (49.7%), causes of caries, periodontal diseases and system diseases (56.9–83.4%). The rates mentioned above were 36.1, 15.8%, 26.7–43.6% among 3MS, respectively. In terms of oral health status, significant differences were only observed in junior students. The prevalence rates of bad breath, gum bleeding, and tooth discoloration among 3DS were obviously lower than those of 3MS. However, only a total of 17.2% junior students had a good oral health, including 23.8% dental students and 11.4% medical students. Conclusions Our study provided a new understanding of oral health knowledge, behavior and status among dental and medical students, which may help to promote the reform of oral health education and establish a model for clinicians and dentists to work together for improving oral health.

0 comments Cited 29 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Oral self-care practices among university students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Braimoh Bashiru, Ilochonwu Anthony (2014)

Background: The maintenance of optimum oral health is dependent on the efficacy of oral self-care. The objective of the present study was to evaluate oral self-care practices and knowledge among non-medical students at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students at the University of Port Harcourt Nigeria, in January, 2014. Self-administered questionnaire elicited information on demography, frequency of tooth brushing, type of tooth brush, use of dental floss and previous visit to the dentist. Results: A total of 360 young adults, 188 males and 172 females, aged 18-33 years participated in the study. Brushing habits of the study population was at least once a day (90%). Approximately half (52.5 %) of the samples used medium-sized bristles and about 28.8% of the students replaced their toothbrush every 3 months. Regarding oral hygiene aids, few students, 5.8% and 4.2% used dental floss and mouthwash, respectively, as oral cleaning aid. Most of the students (71.6%) had never visited the dentist, 18.1% visited due to dental pain and 8.1% for extraction. Regarding knowledge on oral hygiene practice, approximately 60% of students knew that we have to brush our teeth twice daily, 31% knew we need to visit the dentist twice a year and only 18% knew what was dental floss. Conclusion: Oral hygiene practices among the students were poor. Therefore, oral health education and promotion is required to improve oral hygiene practices and health among young adults and the general population.

0 comments Cited 13 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The impact of dental neglect on oral health: a population based study in Hong Kong.

Arthur Sham, Colman McGrath, Deborah Wong … (2007)

The aim of this study was to assess dental neglect (DN) among Hong Kong citizens, to identify socio-demographic variations in DN and to determine the association between DN and oral health (self-reported). Cross sectional population based study involving a random sample of 800 Hong Kong Chinese adults. Telephone interview incorporating the dental neglect scale, assessment of self-reported oral health including an oral health related quality of life measure. The response rate was 70% (556/800). Mean dental neglect score of the population was 14.81 (S.D. 3.62) [possible range 6 to 30]. Most commonly, people were neglectful of using professional dental health care. Socio-demographic disparities in DN were apparent, in relation to age (P < 0.05), income (P < 0.05) and educational attainment (P < 0.05). DN was associated with self-reported oral health: denture status (P < 0.05), number of teeth possessed (P < 0.05) and oral health related quality of life (P < 0.05). Dental neglect is widespread in Hong Kong, particularly neglect of professional dental care. Socio-demographic disparities in dental neglect were apparent. Dental neglect is associated with self-reported oral health status including how oral health impacts on life quality. These findings have implications in understanding the impact of dental neglect.

0 comments Cited 12 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Family Med Prim Care

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Family Med Prim Care

Journal ID (publisher-id): JFMPC

Title: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care

Publisher: Wolters Kluwer - Medknow (India )

ISSN (Print): 2249-4863

ISSN (Electronic): 2278-7135

Publication date (Print): February 2021

Publication date (Electronic): 27 February 2021

Volume: 10

Issue: 2

Pages: 922-928

Affiliations

[1 ] Department of Oral Pathology, Universal College of Medical Sciences, College of Dental Surgery, Bhairahawa, Nepal

[2 ] Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Universal College of Medical Sciences, College of Dental Surgery, Bhairahawa, Nepal

[3 ] Department of Public Health Dentistry, Universal College of Medical Sciences, College of Dental Surgery, Bhairahawa, Nepal

[4 ] Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Rama Dental College, Kanpur, Utter Pradesh, India

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Jyoti Sharma, UCMS, Universal College of Dental Surgery, Bhairahawa, Nepal. E-mail: drjyotibhagwatsharma@ 123456gmail.com

Article

Publisher ID: JFMPC-10-922

DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_841_19

PMC ID: 8138375

PubMed ID: 34041099

SO-VID: a1f1c90b-9a56-4f17-b00d-4e8d0263fd7a

License:

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Knowledge and awareness about dentistry among medical students, residents, and medical practitioners in Bhairahawa city, Nepal

Read this article at

Abstract

Introduction:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

Related collections

Indigenous Knowledge

Most cited references 16

Assessment of the oral health behavior, knowledge and status among dental and medical undergraduate students: a cross-sectional study

Oral self-care practices among university students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

The impact of dental neglect on oral health: a population based study in Hong Kong.

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 45

Cited by 2

Most referenced authors 125