A questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the attitudes of Malaysian dentists toward patient education and preventive dentistry and the level of preventive care adopted in Malaysian dental practice. An adjusted response rate of 73.1% was obtained. Generally the Malaysian dentists had positive attitudes towards patient education and preventive dentistry including fluoridation. However, a sizable proportion of them considered that preventive measures were no challenge for the dentist. The common preventive measures given to patients were scaling, dental health education, prophylaxis and instruction in correct brushing and flossing in as much as 40 to 50 percent of the queried dentist claimed that these preventive items were provided to most or all of their new patients. In spite of the fact that the majority of the dentists had good knowledge about the application and effects of sealants only about 41 percent of the dentists claimed to have used sealants. More dentists in the private sector reportedly having done so. Also many Malaysian dentists (18.5%) did not use leaded protection for any of their new patients when taking radiographs.
Introduction There is a strong and increased worldwide interest on the aspects of
prevention of oral disease and oral health promotion in dental education.
However, some studies imply that dental students are not knowledgeable
enough in this issue. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of, attitude
towards and practice on preventive dentistry among senior dental students in
Yemen.
Methods Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among senior dental
students in six dental schools in Yemen. The questionnaire obtained personal
information, and questions about knowledge on preventive dental care,
attitudes towards and practice on preventive dentistry.
Results Among 346 students who filled the questionnaire, a total of 91.6% has good
knowledge about fissure sealant effectiveness, only 34.7% knows about the
importance of fluoride toothpaste compared to brushing technique in
preventing caries, with significant gender difference (p=0.005). Odds of good
knowledge among non-Qat chewers was 1.9 (95%CI: 1.26-4.42).
Multivariable regression analysis indicated that female gender was associated
with higher positive attitudes (OR: 2.03, 95%CI:1.21-3.36,p=0.007).
Attitudes were significantly associated with Qat chewing (OR = 1.95,
95%CI: 1.04-3.66, p=0.03), type of university (OR = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.36-0.94,
p=0.02), and mothers' level of education (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.05-3.47,
p=0.03). There was a high percentage of competency in practicing preventive
measures among students (80.9%).
Conclusions Dental education should emphasize the overall aspects of preventive dentistry
with early exposure of preventive dental training in order to improve
students' knowledge and attitudes and consequently practice on preventive
care.