1, 2Faraedon Mostafa Zardawi, PhD, 1Dler Ali Khursheed, MSc, 3Ara Omer Fattah, PhD and 4Hoger Omran Alsheikho, MSc.
1Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. 2Dean of Faculty of Dentistry, Qaiwan International University.3Department of Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. 4Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.
Correspondence author: Faraedon Mostafa Zardawi
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Received 01 January 2023.
Accepted for publication on May 31, 2023.
Published October 23, 2023.
Doi: https://doi.org/10.58827/215354hgrfpf
Abstract
Background Oral health programs must first be delivered to oral health care providers. Objectives This study was designed to assess oral health care understanding among preclinical and clinical dental students and male and female dentistry students at Sulaimani University. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional, self-administered structured questionnaire was designed with a total of (38) items allocated in (7) domains of diverse oral health questions covering the main attributes of oral health care knowledge, attitude, and behavior among 232 pre-clinical and clinical dental students, 140 and 92, respectively, comprising 176 females and 56 males. Results No wide diversity in students’ responses was reported between preclinical and clinical, or between male and female students in this study despite some significantly different responses to a few of the total number of items. The significant differences between preclinical and clinical students were mainly in the following areas: in domains (1), the amount of gingival display; in a group (2), professional scaling and polishing and time intervals for visiting a dentist for scaling and polishing; in domains (3), interdental use of floss and brushes; and in domains (4&5), respectively, type of toothpaste and toothbrush. Finally, the two domains responded differently on the cause of dental caries and whether implants could fail due to disease, as in natural teeth, in question domains (6&7). Conclusion Preclinical and clinical students responded similarly to the majority of the items, while male and female responses were not widely divergent despite a few significant differences in answers to some items.
