Dental Health Attitudes and Behavior among Dental Students in Jordan

Objective: Examine and compare differences in oral health attitudes and behavior among Jordanian dental students in different levels of academic education. Methods: Three hundred and fourteen dental students at Jordan University of Science and Technology 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: Clinical students brushed their teeth 4 times more often twice daily or more (OR 3.96, 95% CI 1.73-9.05) than preclinical ones. The odds of visiting a dentist only in case of toothache was reduced by a factor of more than 3 among clinical year students (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.15-0.61). Clinical year students hardly 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, color and appearance of teeth, and cigarette smoking didn't change between preclinical and clincical 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.