Iranian senior dental students as future role models of good health behaviour – a ten year study

Abstract

Background: Dentists according to professional knowledge of the prevention, have a key role in providing a positive model for oral health-promoting behaviours. We aimed to investigate health behaviour of Iranian senior dental students in terms of oral self-care and tobacco use during a ten-year period to assess their preparedness to act as role models for health-promoting behaviours.Method: The study was performed in six dental schools selected through stratified cluster random sampling to have a representative sample of established (old) and new dental schools in Iran. Data were collected in four occasions in 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2015. Senior dental students (n=1185) were invited to voluntarily complete a self-administered anonymous questionnaire about their oral self-care and tobacco use. Recommended tooth-brushing habit (RTH) was defined as at least twice a day brushing with fluoridated toothpaste. Three separate questions about cigarette, pipe, and water-pipe use were applied to indicate the students’ tobacco use. Results: In 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2015, 22.5% (n=60), 26% (n=52), 28.5% (n=81), and 24.6% (n=51) of the students reported smoking, respectively. Women reported a better status in both tooth brushing twice daily and frequent use of fluoridate toothpaste than men did (p<0.001). Among male students, 42.2% (n=159) and among female students 14.9% (n=83) of the students reported current smoking. The trend of reported smoking had the least variation among female students. This was true also for male students regarding RTH.Conclusion: The status and trend of oral self-care and tobacco use among Iranian dental students calls for more emphasis on adopting health-promoting behaviours during dental education.

The Effect of Different Teaching Methods on the Quality of Tooth Preparation by Preclinical Students

“…Medical students of any discipline can benefit from structured education, which includes a combination of theoretical and practical education in the laboratory on artificial patient models, and acquire the capabilities required for clinical practice (3)(4)(5). The main objective of general dentistry curricula is to prepare and empower the students to provide better dental services in their future careers (6).…”