Determinants of preventive oral health behavior among senior dental students of Greater Noida, India
Introduction: Oral self-care practice is an effective preventive measure for maintaining good oral health. The health beliefs and attitudes of health professionals will not only affect their oral self-care habits, but will have a profound influence on their ability to motivate patients to learn and...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.jiaphd.org/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2015;volume=13;issue=1;spage=63;epage=66;aulast=Prabhakar |
| Summary: | Introduction: Oral self-care practice is an effective preventive measure for maintaining good oral health. The health beliefs and attitudes of health professionals will not only affect their oral self-care habits, but will have a profound influence on their ability to motivate patients to learn and practice preventive oral health measures. Aim: The aim was to determine the preventive oral health behavior of senior dental students in relation to demography, knowledge of preventive care, and attitudes towards preventive dentistry. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a dental institution by distributing pretested questionnaire to 102 final year dental students. The overall response rate was 94%. Data were computed and tabulated. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test using SPSS. Results: More than half of the respondents (56.25%) agreed that the frequency of sugar consumption has a greater role in producing caries. It was observed that 93.75% of students found preventive dentistry practice to be useful. Significant gender differences were observed in the use of recommended oral self-care, knowledge of using sealant as a caries preventive measure and fluoridation of drinking water as an effective way of preventing caries. Conclusion: There was an appreciably high level of good knowledge of preventive dental care among the dental students with a positive attitude towards preventive dentistry practice. |
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| ISSN: | 2319-5932 2350-0484 |