Czech and Slovak Dental Students’ Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours (KAB): Multi-Country Cross-Sectional Study

Abanoub Riad, Veronika Chuchmová, Ján Staněk, Barbora Hocková, Sameh Attia, Martin Krsek and Miloslav Klugar
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Abanoub Riad: Czech National Centre for Evidence-Based Healthcare and Knowledge Translation (Cochrane Czech Republic, Czech EBHC: JBI Centre of Excellence, Masaryk University GRADE Centre), Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Veronika Chuchmová: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Ján Staněk: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, 775 15 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Barbora Hocková: Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, 975 17 Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Sameh Attia: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Justus-Liebig-University, Klinikstrasse 33, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Martin Krsek: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Miloslav Klugar: Czech National Centre for Evidence-Based Healthcare and Knowledge Translation (Cochrane Czech Republic, Czech EBHC: JBI Centre of Excellence, Masaryk University GRADE Centre), Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-31

Abstract: Dentists play a key role in the primary prevention of oral diseases and related systemic complications; therefore, their views on behavioural interventions need to be aligned with the current agendas for oral health. Likewise, dental students’ oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours (KAB) are of practical importance, as they are the future opinion leaders for oral health in their respective communities. A cross-sectional survey-based study was designed to evaluate the oral health KAB of dental students in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The study utilized translated versions of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI), and it aimed to recruit students from all Czech and Slovak dental schools. A total of 487 students were included in this study, out of which 372 (76.4%) were females, 271 (55.6%) were enrolled in preclinical years, 68 (14%) reported smoking tobacco at least once a week, and 430 (88.3%) reported problematic internet use. The mean HU-DBI score of Czech and Slovak dental students (8.18 ± 1.80) was comparable with the previously reported scores of dental students in Nordic and Western European countries. Czech students (9.34 ± 1.29) had a significantly higher score than their Slovak counterparts (7.56 ± 1.73). In both countries, preclinical students (8.04 vs. 8.35), the students who reported tobacco smoking (7.63 vs. 8.27), and those who reported problematic internet use (8.11 vs. 8.70) had significantly lower HU-DBI scores than their counterparts, respectively. In the Czech Republic, the significant increases in HU-DBI scores occurred after the first academic year when the students received preventive dentistry courses; therefore, one can put forward that early implementation of preventive elements in undergraduate dental curricula may yield better and more sustainable oral health gains for the students. Future research on Czech and Slovak dental curricula need to re-evaluate the oral hygiene and anti-smoking components and their impact on students’ views and attitudes.

Keywords: Czech Republic; dental education; dental students; Slovakia; health-related knowledge; attitudes and practices; Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory; HU-DBI; oral health; oral hygiene (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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