Smoking and Its Determinants among Iranian Dental Students

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate smoking habits of Iranian dental students in relation to their background characteristics and oral self-care (OSC). Subjects and Methods: A survey in the form of a questionnaire was conducted of 327 senior dental students in seven randomly selected state dental schools in Iran. In addition to smoking habits and background characteristics, the students were asked about OSC. A recommended level of OSC was defined as a combination of brushing at least twice a day, frequent use of fluoridated toothpaste, and eating sugary snacks less than daily. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 263 students (113 males and 150 females) completely answered the questions and were included in the analyses. Results: Of the 263 students, 59 (23%, 37 males and 22 females) reported current smoking (cigarette, pipe, or water pipe). Current smoking was associated with male gender (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.4–5.6), level of father’s education (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1–1.8), and OSC (OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.3–14.9). Conclusion: Smoking among Iranian dental students is similar to their socioeconomic group, and is associated with the characteristics of their background, such as gender and father’s level of education, as well as the quality of OSC. The results indicate a need to include smoking cessation education and public health activities in the dental curriculum to provide future health care professionals and role models for patients with adequate training in up-to-date patient management to control smoking.

Tobacco use among Iranian dental students: a national survey

“…Our results on the rate of current tobacco use (21%) are similar to those of Khami et al (23%) [15]. They applied a stratified cluster random sampling method to evaluate Iranian senior dental students (The students who are studying in the last 2 semesters of the 6-year undergraduate dental education programme) by randomly selecting 7 state colleges.…”

“…This enables us to compare our results with similar studies at the global level. In addition, contrary to the previous research on tobacco use among Iranian dental students [9,15], we included private dental schools in the sampling frame of the study. Since the proportion of dental students studying in the private schools was high, our results provide a more reliable picture of the target population.…”

“…Having taken into account the emphasis of the other studies on the importance of controlling waterpipe smoking as a common habit among Iranian dental students [15], Iranian adolescents [20] and women [21], we paid more attention to assessing the prevalence of waterpipe smoking. Since the GTSS recommendations suggest that locally important content can be added to the core questionnaires [18], we evaluated ever and current waterpipe smoking independently by adding 3 questions to our core questionnaire.…”

“…Regarding current use of tobacco products other than cigarettes, Islamic Republic of Iran ranked fourth (range from 5% for Sudan to 37% for Lebanon) [9]. To our knowledge, just 2 national surveys in this country of about 75 million people in 2011 have assessed tobacco use prevalence among Iranian dental students [9,15]. These studies included only state-run colleges.…”

Insights into Smoking and its Cessation among Current Smokers in India

“…Most of the earlier studies focused mainly on prevalence and practices of smoking among targeted populations such as school children, adolescents, students, professionals, etc. (Sinha et al, 2007;Saade et al, 2009;Khami et al, 2010;Jayakrishnan et al, 2011;Al-Naggar et al, 2012). Socio-demographic determinants might play a crucial role in smoking and its cessation.…”