The effect of vocational awareness level on dental anxiety and oral health among the students of dentistry

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The purpose of this study was assessing oral health status and dental anxiety differences between the freshman and senior dental students and the effect of awareness on dental practices. METHODS: Freshman (n =71) and senior dental students (n = 41) were included in this study. All participants were applied Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (C-DAS) and asked for the frequency of dental visits in a year. Gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index were recorded. Number Cruncher Statistical System (NCSS) program and Shapiro-Wilk, t, Mann-Whitney U, Pearson chi-square, and Fisher-Freeman-Halton tests were used for statistical analysis (P < 0.0500). RESULTS: C-DAS score of the freshman students was found significantly higher than the senior students (P < 0.0500). There was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of dental visits between freshman and senior students (P < 0.0010). GI, PI, and BOP values of the freshman students were significantly higher than the senior students (P < 0.0010). There was no statistical differences between PD and CAL measurements (P > 0.0500). It was found that the DMFT index score of freshman students was significantly higher than the senior students (P < 0.0010). CONCLUSION: This study has shown that dental anxiety decreases as awareness and consciousness increase in terms of dental practice. More anxious participants’ oral health is weak, individuals with high dental anxiety make fewer visits to the dentists and need more dental practices.