Abstract

DIAZ-REISSNER, Clarisse Virginia et al. Dental caries prevention related knowledge among students. CES odontol. [online]. 2016, vol.29, n.1, pp.14-21. ISSN 0120-971X.

Introduction: Adequate knowledge of dental caries prevention may be critical to maintain optimal oral health status. objective: to determine the dental caries prevention related knowledge among Universidad del Pacífico students, in different faculties than Dentistry, enrolled in the year 2015. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 131 undergraduate students, who completed a survey of 10 closed questions on caries prevention mechanisms. Results: 63.4% were female; 58.8% came from Asunción city, the average age was 20. Only 8.4% said bacteria that damage the teeth appear in the child right from the moment bacteria reach child's mouth and only 25.2% considered dental caries as transmissible. 41.2% consider brushing techniques and brush brand as very important. Only 19.1% believed that dental cleaning should be performed at birth, while 56.5% since the first tooth erupts. Likewise, only 35.1% considered temporary teeth decayed must be treated to keep space for future permanent teeth. Knowledge level was insufficient (1-2 hits) at 8.4%; acceptable (3-4 hits) in 43.5%; good (5-6 hits) in 41.2%; very good (7-8 hits) on 6.9% and none got excellent. Conclusions: Less than half the students have good knowledge about dental caries prevention, which would indicate that the study population needed strategies to reach good oral health habits.

Keywords : Students; Oral hygiene; Education; Oral health.

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