The Effect of the Course of “Smoking and Oral Health” on Knowledge and Attitude of Students Regarding Dentist’s Role in Smoking Cessation Programs

Abstract   BACKGROUND & AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an educational intervention - course of "smoking and oral health"- on knowledge and attitude of dental students about the complications of smoking and the role of the dentist in smoking cessation. Material & Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 62 dental students from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences as control group, and 63 dental students from Isfahan Azad University as experimental group. Volunteer students filled out a self-administered questionnaire about their knowledge and attitude regarding dentist’s role in smoking cessation. During the ongoing semester, educational intervention was conducted. Then, the students filled out the questionnaires again. Paired sample t-test، Independent sample t-test ، Chi square، and Fisher exact test served for statistical analysis. Results: Before the intervention, no significant difference existed between two groups regarding their knowledge score (P=0.46). Following the intervention however, knowledge score in intervention group was significantly higher than control group (P<0.001). Students' attitude was not significantly different between two groups before the intervention (P=0.93). Following the intervention, attitude score was significantly higher in intervention group than control group (P<0.001). Following the intervention, the mean scores of attitude increased significantly in both groups (P<0.001). However, the increased score of knowledge and attitude in intervention group was significantly higher than control group (P<0.001). Conclusion:  Course of “Smoking and Oral Health” improved students’ knowledge and attitudes towards smoking cessation. Although, students’ performance was not evaluated, it seems that educational programs may improve their performance as well.   Keywords: Oral health, Smoking, knowledge, attitude, dental students, dental curriculum