Evaluating the knowledge, attitude and self report competency of dental students of Anzali Faculty regarding preventive dentistry

Introduction: Preventive dental procedures prevent oral problems such as tooth decay or gum disease. These preventive measures include regular dental visits, fluoride therapy and fissure sealants therapy. Preventive dentistry largely prevents the complications of oral diseases as well as the financial and psychological complications that the patient suffers. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and self report competency of dental students of Anzali International Campus regarding preventive dentistry. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 65 dental students of Anzali International Campus School completed a 4-part questionnaire including demographic information and their knowledge, attitude and self report competency in the field of oral health. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 26 using Chi-square and fisher statistical tests and the significance level was considered less than 0.05. Results: 9.2% of students had low knowledge, 66.2% had moderate knowledge and 24.6% had high knowledge. 52.3% of students had negative attitude, 36.9% had moderate attitude and 10.8% had positive attitude. 15 (23.1%) had self report competency about preventive dentistry. Knowledge, attitude and self report competency scores did not show a significant difference in terms of gender and academic year (P> 0.05). Conclusion: Due to insufficiency of knowledge, attitude and self report competency of students, it seems necessary to provide educational programs to promote them.

Evaluating the knowledge, attitude and self report competency of dental students of Anzali Faculty regarding preventive dentistry Keywords:

Attitude , Knowledge , Preventive dentistry , Students , آگاهی , نگرش , دانشجویان , دندانپزشکی پیشگیرانه