Evaluation of Awareness, Knowledge and Attitude towards Evidence-Based Dentistry among Dental Students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Evidence-based dentistry (EBD) is an approach to oral healthcare that includes derivation and judicious use of the best available evidence in conjunction with patient’s status, and dentist’s experience in making decisions towards the care of an individual patient. The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness, knowledge and attitude towards evidence-based dentistry among dental students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
In this cross-sectional survey, questionnaires including three parts of awareness, self-assessed knowledge and attitude, were distributed among 101 senior dental students of Mashhad Dental School. After collecting of the questionnaires, the data were analyzed using statistical tests of t-test and Pearson and Spearman correlations.
The response rate was 84%. The mean awareness score was 25.6±4.8 out of a maximum of 50, the mean self-assessed knowledge score was 28.8±8 out of a maximum of 45 and the mean attitude score was 42.5±5.2 out of a maximum of 60. Fifty three percent of students reported that they were not/little familiar with EBD. In awareness part of the questionnaire, 46 percent of answers were not/little, in self-assessed knowledge part, one third of the answers were not/little understanding the word, while in attitude part 56 percent of answers were agree/quite agree.
The evaluated students had a relatively good attitude towards EBD but did not achieve enough scores towards awareness and knowledge about it. Apparently, EBD training needs more attention and the educational curriculum may need to be corrected.