Effect of acquired knowledge on the status of caries in dental undergraduate students

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research was to study the evolution of dental health of dental students during their academic training and to assess the extent to which the knowledge acquired was reflected in their own dental care. A cross sectional survey was carried out in a Dental College of Lahore. The sample was selected randomly choosing 40 students from each year with an age range between 18 and 24 years. The data for this study were collected using a pre-tested self- administered questionnaire and was considered mandatory for all participants to fill out. All participants were clinically examined. Their oral cavity was thoroughly checked for any ongoing disease process and a DMFT chart was filled accordingly. Data entry and analysis was done using the IBM SPSS version 20. Final sample size was 160 [Females 75.6% / males 24.4%]. The highest frequency of females and males was observed in 3rd year and 1st year respectively Frequency distribution and Chi-Square tests of significance were performed. High levels of DMF were not that evident. Almost 30% [48] students had .00 DMF and 23% [37] had 1.00 DMF [p<0.05]. Only a small number of students were found using non-fluoridated toothpaste [p< 0.01]. Chi-square Analysis revealed a significant relations between the year of study and DMFT of the students [p<0.05] along with Gender and age as well as year of study and age [p<0.01]