Assessment of knowledge of the association between periodontitis and systemic conditions among clinical medical and nursing students

Background: Periodontitis has been linked to some systemic conditions. The knowledge of this association by qualified health professionals and those in training is very vital in holistic patient care. Objective: To assess knowledge of the association between periodontitis and systemic conditions among clinical medical and nursing students Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among clinical medical and clinical nursing students of the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. A total of 200 questionnaires were administered with 156 properly filled. Section A of the questionnaire had questions on the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents, while section B included questions on the assessment of participants’ awareness and knowledge regarding the possible link between periodontitis and some systemic conditions. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 25.0 with p ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: A total number of 156 clinical medical and nursing students participated in the study, 99 (63.5%) were females, while the remaining 57 (36.5%) were males. The age range of the participants was 19-35 years with a mean age of 23.31 ± 2.50 years.   Of the 156 participants, 85 (54.5 %) were clinical medical students while 71 (45.5%) were clinical nursing students. 74.4% of the medical students and 35.7% of the nursing students knew that there was a possible link between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus (p=0.000). 54.9% of medical students and 30.0% of nursing students agreed that there is a possible link between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (p=0.001). Using Bloom’s concept, 69 (81.2%) of the medical students and 53 (74.6%) of nursing students demonstrated low knowledge about the link between periodontitis and systemic conditions,  Conclusion: There was an inadequate level of knowledge of the possible association between periodontitis and some systemic conditions among the participants. Hence, there is a need to include oral health education in the undergraduate curriculum of both medical and nursing students.