September 2006

Objective: Examine and compare differences in oral health attitudes and behaviour among Jordanian dental students. Basic research design and participants: Cross-sectional study of 314 dental students was conducted to compare differences in oral health behaviour and attitudes among these students in different levels of academic education. Setting: Jordan University of Science and Technology. Methods: Subjects were surveyed using a modified version of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavior Inventory (HU-DBI) questionnaire (20 Items). Multivariate binary and polytomous logistic regression analyses were performed in order to study change of patterns of statements during preclinical and clinical, and year of study, respectively. Results: The percentage of students claiming to brush their teeth twice daily or more often was four times higher amongst clinical students than amongst pre-clinical students.. The odds of visiting a dentist only in case of toothache was reduced by a factor of more than three among clinical year students (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.15-0.61). Clinical year students rarely complained of bleeding gums after toothbrushing (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.03-0.27). On the other hand, a number of items regarding use of dental floss and tooth paste, bad breath, colour and appearance of teeth, and cigarette smoking was similar between preclinical and clinical students. Evaluation of trends during dental studies employing polytomous multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed an abrupt change at the end of preclinical studies for items characterizing professional attitude. Conclusions: With advancement in dental school, dental student’s oral health awareness and attitudes improved in some aspects. Preventive dentistry courses should be taught early in the dental curriculum of the pre-clinical years. Key words: Dental health attitudes, dental students, oral health behaviour, Jordan