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

Introduction: 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. Materials and Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusion: 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.