Is the Knowledge of Oral-Dental Health of Students Studying at a University Sufficient?

Aim: Due to the common nature of oral and dental problems, awareness needs to be improved, expanded, and maintained. The aim of this study was to determine the oral and dental health knowledge levels of students, many of who would be teachers of the future, in this health field, and to help them work toward the elimination of the identified deficiencies. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study involved 475 students from the Erzurum Ataturk University dentistry, medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, nursing, and education faculties. Data were collected through a questionnaire by random stratified technique, investigating participants' demographic characteristics and oral health knowledge levels. Results: We observed that 77.3% of students correctly answered 15 or more out of 31 questions addressing levels of knowledge of oral and dental health. This figure was 100% for students in the dentistry faculty and 56.3% for those in the education faculty. The difference between faculties in terms of students correctly answering 15 or more questions was statistically significant (P < .001). A statistically significant difference was also determined between the faculties in terms of students' sense of competence in oral and dental subjects (P < .001). Conclusion: In the light of the data obtained, since prospective health care professionals and teachers both play an important role in raising public awareness, we recommend that a basic oral health course be introduced into the curricula of the relevant faculties.