Dental Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH): A Survey in Vienna, Austria

Abstract

Purpose: Molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) is a frequently encountered dental condition worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of Austrian dental students about MIH. Methods: A validated paper-based survey was distributed among 100 final year dental students at the Medical University of Vienna to assess their knowledge, perception and believes regarding MIH. One hundred dental students at the University Dental Clinic of Vienna were included in the study. At the time of the survey, they were in their 11th or 12th semester (final year). Information about the knowledge on diagnosis and prevalence, and attitudes and beliefs around etiology and management was collected. Results: All students replied, 94 questionnaires could be included in the analysis (50% female). 98% of the students were familiar with MIH and 86% were aware with the clinical features of MIH. Only 13% reported clinical ability to identify MIH. Regarding the etiology of MIH, most of the students (69%) named "genetic factors" as the most frequent etiological factor. Conclusion: Dental students showed great interest in the topic of MIH, as the majority of all respondents were in favor of deepening their knowledge regarding this topic. The students should be offered opportunities to do this both during and after their studies.

“Knowledge, clinical experience, and perceived need for training regarding molar-incisor hypomineralization among a group of Egyptian dental students: a cross-sectional study”

“…Thence, not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of them (89.4%) recommended that investigating the prevalence of MIH in Egypt would be worthwhile. These results support those in similar studies which have reported that practitioners are uncertain about the prevalence of MIH in their communities [ 19 – 21 , 27 ].…”

“…Similar to previous studies, nearly half of the students in the present study reported never seeing MIH-like defects in the second primary molars [ 18 , 19 , 21 ]. The other half reported observing MIH-like defects in the second primary molar less frequently than in FPMs.…”

“…Similar to other studies, nearly half of the dental students reported encountering patients with MIH condition; nearly half of them reported encountering such cases on a monthly basis, about half reported yearly basis and rare selection of the weekly basis has been reported [ 17 – 19 , 21 ]. This could represent their perceived estimation of MIH prevalence and reflect ostensible existence of this condition amongst the population which in turn signifies the necessity of conducting epidemiological surveys to provide reliable prevalence data.…”

“…Paper-based survey administration method was used to collect the responses of the students as it was more convenient and it also ensured higher response rate. A validated structured questionnaire that had been used in previous studies [17,[19][20][21][22][23] was pilot tested on 20 students who were not included in the statistical analysis. After evaluating the responses, the questionnaire was considered appropriate to be used unmodified.…”

“…Previous similar studies have investigated knowledge, perceptions, and perceived need for training regarding MIH among dental students in different countries [17][18][19][20][21]. To the best of our knowledge, there is insufficient information regarding the knowledge and clinical experience of dental students about such condition in Egypt.…”