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- Title
Are Iranian graduating dental students prepared to act as future role models of good oral health behaviour? A 10‐year study.
- Authors
Khami, Mohammad Reza; Mohebbi, Simin Zahra; Dorostkar, Zahra; Keshavarz, Hooman; Bonabi, Maedeh; Murtomaa, Heikki; Virtanen, Jorma
- Abstract
Introduction: Dentists by their professional knowledge of prevention have a key role in providing a positive role model for oral health‐promoting behaviours. We aimed to investigate the health behaviour of Iranian senior dental students in terms of oral self‐care and tobacco use during a 10‐year period to assess their preparedness to act as role models for health‐promoting behaviours. Materials and Methods: The study was performed in six dental schools selected through stratified cluster random sampling to have a representative sample of all dental schools in Iran. Data were collected in four occasions in 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2015. Senior dental students (N = 1188) were invited to voluntarily complete a self‐administered anonymous questionnaire about their oral self‐care and tobacco use. Recommended tooth‐brushing habit (RTH) was defined as at least twice a day brushing with fluoridated toothpaste. Three separate questions about cigarette, pipe and waterpipe use were applied to assess the students' reported use of tobacco. Results: The response rate was 81%. Female students reported more frequently RTH than males (p <.001). The reported RTH was more prevalent among nonsmokers. In 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2015, 22.5%, 26%, 28.5% and 24.6% of the students reported smoking, respectively. The trend of reported smoking had the least variation among female students. This was true also for male students regarding RTH. Conclusion: The status and trend of oral self‐care and tobacco use among Iranian dental students call for more emphasis on adopting health‐promoting behaviours during dental education.
- Subjects
IRAN; DENTAL students; HEALTH behavior; DENTAL schools; ROLE models; IRANIAN students; SMOKELESS tobacco
- Publication
European Journal of Dental Education, 2023, Vol 27, Issue 3, p471
- ISSN
1396-5883
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/eje.12830