The Outcomes of an Interventional Oral Health Program on Dental Students’ Oral Hygiene

Katarina Kalevski, Jovan Vojinovic, Milica Gajic, Ema Aleksic, Zoran Tambur, Jovana Milutinovic, Nenad Borotic and Rasa Mladenovic
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Katarina Kalevski: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Jovan Vojinovic: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Milica Gajic: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Ema Aleksic: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Zoran Tambur: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Jovana Milutinovic: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Nenad Borotic: Faculty of Stomatology, Pancevo, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, 26000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Rasa Mladenovic: Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-9

Abstract: Dental students are an interesting population because they are expected to have a higher level of knowledge of and to exhibit better oral hygiene habits, and thus have a greater impact on the environment, families, and society as a whole. The aim of this research was to determine the state of oral hygiene in dental students before and after the interventional health education program. The research sample consisted of 119 students of dentistry in their first and fourth years of study. The first research stage was conducted before health education intervention (for the evaluation of selected oral health parameters, the Decayed, Missing and Filled index, Greene–Vermillion index, Silness–Löe plaque index, Silness–Löe gingival index, and the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs index were used). The second stage was conducted as a clinical measurement of oral health changes. The conducted health education intervention, to an extent, led to changes in the state of oral hygiene among the students, and thus healthier habits. There was a statistically significant difference in the examined population between the beginning of the study and after the health education intervention program. Although a significant improvement in oral hygiene and oral health was noticed after the health education intervention program, the state of oral hygiene was still not at a satisfactory level among the dental students, contrary to our expectations.

Keywords: oral health; oral hygiene; dental students; health education program; intervention program (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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