Znanje o ustnem zdravju in vedenje pri študentih medicine in dentalne medicine na Medicinski fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani
Oral health knowledge and behaviour among medical and dental students at the Medical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana

slovenian

2024

volume 63, issue 4

Društvo Medicinski razgledi
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

BACKGROUNDS. The relationship between oral and general health is two-way. The aim of our study was to test the hypothesis on the existence of differences between medical and dental students at the Medical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana regarding oral health-related behaviours and knowledge. METHODS. Questionnaires were used to collect demographic data, data on oral health knowledge, and maintenance habits as well as the relationship between oral and general health. The t-test, ?2 test and linear regression method were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS. The study involved 239 medical and 153 dental students. The ?2 test showed statistically significant differences (p?0.05) between the student groups for the questions on oral health-related behaviour, general knowledge of oral health maintenance, risk factors for poor oral health, and knowledge of the links between oral and systemic health. Dental students had a better knowledge of oral health (13.2 out of 20 points) than medical students (11.4 out of 20 points; p<0.001; t-test). The results of linear regression showed that for each additional year of study, knowledge increased by 0.83 units in medicine and 1.36 units in dentistry. CONCLUSIONS. Our study confirms the hypothesis on the differences in oral health knowledge and behaviour among students. Over the years of study, students’ understanding of oral health improves in both groups. There is a need to further integrate oral health into the curriculum and strengthen the link between students of both disciplines.

06.05.2025