Evaluation of oral health attitude and behaviors in medical science students of Shahed University

Medical staffs are important and accessible source for gathering health information such as oral health. As a result, their increased Knowledge can lead to improvement of their own and their patients' health habits. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Oral Hygiene Index simplified (OHI-S) and its relationship with attitudes toward oral health behaviors of medical science students.

In this cross-sectional study, the Persian version of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) and OHI-S evaluation were used. The questionnaire was completed by 118 medical Science students of Shahed University in 2018 and then the teeth were examined. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyze the data.

Dental students with an average score of 6.06 had the highest average compared to other fields (P < 0.05). Average scored of clinical dental students higher than preclinical students. According to the results, people with a more favorable OHI-S are less bothered by the color of their gums and spend more time examining their teeth in the mirror.

Compared to other fields, dental students had better attitudes toward oral health and scored higher. Better oral health-related behaviors were observed in this group. Oral health education should be emphasized for other disciplines.