The oral health status and oral hygiene practice of senior dental students: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Oral and dental problems still remain a public health dilemma worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the oral health status and oral hygiene practice of dental students. Methods: 80 senior dental students were assigned to the study by using convenience sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to collect the information, which included two sections. The first section asked for demographic information and the second section asked for oral hygiene practice, and was completed by the participants. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by the test-retest method and the kappa value was calculated to be 0.65-0.91. The DMFT index was also recorded by clinical examination. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 20 at the significance level of 0.05.  Results: In this study, more female participants brushed the lingual and palatal surface of their teeth compared to males; more male participants experienced gingival bleeding during toothbrushing compared to females; more female participants used chlorhexidine mouthwash compared to males. The mean score of oral health status and oral hygiene practice was good (10.61±3.29). The mean score was good in females (11.27±4.68) and was moderate in males (9.83±1.81). A significant difference was found between females and males in terms of oral health status. Although the means of decay, missing and filling were higher in males than females, no significant relation was found between males and females in term of decay, missing and filling. (P=0.57, P=0.88m and P=0.23) Conclusion: The findings indicated a relatively good oral health status and oral hygiene practice of dental students in Rasht city. The oral health status and oral hygiene practice of female students were better than males.