Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURKISH JOURNAL OF PUBLİC HEALTH, cilt.15, ss.201-211, 2017 (Hakemli Dergi)
Is oral-dental health training in faculties of medicine and dentistry
sufficient? A comparison of students’
knowledge levels
Abstract
Objective: Awareness of
oral-dental health needs to be improved, disseminated and maintained due to the
frequent occurrence of dental problems in Turkish society. The purpose of this
study was to determine the level of oral-dental health knowledge among Medical
and Dentistry Faculty students. This was deemed especially pertinent as these
students will be responsible for propagating higher levels of awareness and
assisting activities aimed at overcoming the deficiencies identified. Method:
247 clinically active students at the Erzurum Atatürk University, Faculties of
Medicine and Dentistry participated in this descriptive study. Data was
collected via a questionnaire. Participants’ demographic data were recorded and
their knowledge of oral-dental health was measured. Results: Males represented 55.9% of the participants in the study. Students’
mean age was 24.7±1.9 years; 46.2% were dental faculty students and 53.8%
medical faculty students. Levels of correct responses to questions concerning
oral-dental health among medical faculty students ranged between 4.5% and
66.9%, while those of dental faculty students ranged between 29.8% and 97.4%.
Significant variation in information levels was observed between dental and
medical faculty students (p<0.05). Conclusions: Although
the oral-dental health knowledge among the future dentists was generally
adequate, basic knowledge among the future physicians was not generally at an
adequate level. It would therefore be useful for medical faculties to add
oral-dental health to pre-graduation training.
Key words: Oral-dental
health, medical training, levels of knowledge of oral-dental health