The perceived concepts of oral health attitudes and behaviors of dental students from four Asian countries

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the self-reported oral health attitudes and behaviors of dental students from four Asian countries based on their gender and level of dental education.

Subjects and methods: A structured, pre-tested, self-administered 12-item questionnaire survey was conducted among undergraduate dental students at all study levels. The sample was drawn from the Kerala University of Health Sciences; India, King Saud University, Al-Kharj University and University of Dammam; Saudi Arabia, Ajman University of Science and Technology and University of Sharjah; United Arab Emirates and University of Aden; Yemen. The questionnaire included demographic details and questions on the students’ oral health attitudes and behaviors.

Results: A total of 1553 dental students (955 females, 598 males) consisting of 655 pre-clinical and 898 clinical students participated in the study. Majority of respondents (74%) reported cleaning their tongue daily and 61.8% reported that regular dental check-up should be carried out every 6 months. However, 61.9% reported that they do not use a dental floss and 72.6% reported visiting their dentist only when having dental problems.

Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, noticeable differences in the oral health attitudes and behaviors of the surveyed female- and clinical-dental students compared to male- and pre-clinical-dental students respectively could not be elicited. Teaching student dentists the necessary skills in attaining good oral hygiene is as imperative as imparting knowledge on various aspects of oral health.