Impact of a periodontal course on oral hygiene and gingival health among senior dental students

Abstract

This survey attempted to determine the impact of the periodontal course on oral hygiene and gingival health among 50 senior dental students. The course included the following: patient motivation, instruction in oral hygiene procedures and plaque control, scaling and curettage, temporary splinting and occlusal adjustment. Without advance notice, plaque deposits were scored using the Plaque Index and gingival health was determined using the Gingival Index. The results were collected at the beginning and at the end of the periodontal course (about 2 months). The results were analyzed using the paired t-test. No improvement of either oral hygiene or gingival health was noted at the end of the periodontal course. It seems that even some dental students, who should know the direct relationship between bacterial plaque and periodontal diseases and should be better motivated than the average patient, failed to demonstrate effective oral hygiene. It is difficult to expert an improvement of patient oral hygiene, when the patients have been motivated by students who are unable to perform satisfactory personal oral hygiene themselves. It is suggested that a greater emphasis be placed on patient motivation and instruction in oral hygiene throughout the dental curriculum.

Oral health of dental assistants and patients receiving maintenance – an investigation based on a district of Thuringia, Germany

“…Based on their professional skills, DAs should possess extensive knowledge in the prevention and therapy of caries and periodontal disease. However, some evaluations have shown that theoretical knowledge does not necessarily result in implementation in practice, in this case, effective oral hygiene at home . In the present study, the oral health behaviour and the state of oral health of DAs and a patient group (PTs) regularly undergoing professional prophylaxis were examined.…”

“…However, knowledge of comprehensive oral hygiene measures and the instruction of patients in oral hygiene do not appear to necessarily result in improved oral hygiene. Some studies that have investigated the oral health of dental professionals have raised doubts regarding their ability to effectively motivate patients .…”

Dental health behaviour in relation to caries status among medical and dental undergraduate students of Udaipur district, India

“…It is of great importance that the future dental surgeon, whose duty will be to motivate the patients and to give them all the basic instructions to enable them to achieve a sufficient degree of oral hygiene, should themselves be particularly conscious of the pathological effects of a poor oral hygiene (13). Dental students were found to have more positive dental health behaviour than medical students.…”

Time and cohort changes in preventive practice among Mongolian dental students

“…To facilitate these endeavours in dental prevention, special educational programmes have been designated and integrated in undergraduate dental training. Such programmes have stressed, in addition to actual training, the importance of prevention in dental students' future practice (6). In passing through the professional educational curriculum, each dental student should also become an exemplar, a model of oral health (7).…”