Comparison of oral hygiene attitudes, awareness and periodontal parameters of undergraduate dental students

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the differences in selfreported oral health attitudes and clinical measurements between undergraduatedental students who enrolled in or not enrolled in periodontology course inTurkey.Materials and Methods: A total of 701 students were included in the study.Students asked 26 questions including age, gender, smoking, oral hygiene habitsand self-assessment measures for periodontal status. Probing depth (PD) clinicalattachment level (CAL), presence of bleeding on probing (BOP), plaque index(PI) and gingival index (GI) measurements performed. The Chi-square test wasused for categorical data and one way Anova post hoc Tukey test for ordinal leveldata.Results: There were no differences between grades in term of PD and CAL(p>0.05). Statistically significant difference was in BOP value between 1st and 5th grade (p<0.05). PI values of 1st grade were statistically higher than 3rd, 4th and 5th grades (p<0.05). GI of 1st grade was statistically higher than 4th and 5th grades(p<0.05). GI of 2nd grade was statistically higher than 3rd, 4th and 5th grades(p<0.05). Tooth brushing was not different between grades (p>0.05). Interdentalcare ratios in grades significantly differ from each other (p<0.05). According tostudents, they did not have any kind of periodontal disease with high percentagesabove 88%. 4th and 5th grades had periodontal treatment comparing the othergrades (p<0.05).Conclusions: Starting to take periodontology course in dental faculties from thefirst year and constituting a periodontal disease prevention program will bebeneficial to students in Turkey.