Oral Health Knowledge of Turkish Senior Child Development Students: Results of the Pilot Study

Abstract

Objective: The aim was evaluating oral health related knowledge of a group of senior Child Developmentstudents. Materials and Methods: Data of this pilot study were gathered via a structured self-administeredquestionnaire in 2019, from 76 students with the intention of developing a future cross-sectional study, that wouldcover all senior students of Child Development Departments in Turkey. Ethical approval and verbal informedconsent from students were obtained. Results: The mean age was 22.9±1.8 years; 73 were female. Only 2.6%could define what dental plaque was. Most of them (93.4%) knew the eruption time of first primary tooth but only16 (21.0%) knew the correct number of primary teeth. Fifty (65.8%) agreed that ‘dental caries of primary teeth isan important issue for the child’. Only 47 (61.8%) stated that children under two years of age could have dentalcaries. The appropriateness of toothpaste use between 0-2 years of age was understood by 26.3%. Although 68.4%reported they were aware of fluoride, only 5 fully understood the role of fluoride in the prevention of dental caries.Three-fourth reported incorrectly that children between 2 and 6 years should brush their teeth by themselves. Only2 (2.6%) stated that they had previous education regarding oral health; 11.8% thought their oral health knowledgelevel was sufficient. However, 97.4% requested more education. Conclusions: The oral health knowledge of thesenior Child Development students was not adequate. The present curriculum should be reviewed and lectures onthis topic given.