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Time and cohort changes in preventive practice among Mongolian dental students
Battsetseg Tseveenjav1, Miira Vehkalahti, Heikki Murtomaa
1Department of Oral Public Health, Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. battsetseg.tseveenjav@helsinki.fi
Summary
Dental students in Mongolia showed improved preventive practices over time, with fifth-year students demonstrating significant gains. Enhancing dental education on modern caries prevention is recommended to further boost student practices.
Area of Science:
- Dental Education
- Preventive Dentistry
- Public Health
Background:
- Assessing changes in dental students' preventive practices is crucial for improving oral healthcare delivery.
- The Mongolian National Medical University (MNMU) provides a context to study these evolving practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate temporal and cohort variations in preventive practices among dental students at MNMU.
- To identify factors influencing preventive practice and self-perceived competency.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire-based survey was administered to clinical-year dental students in 2000 and 2002.
- Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were performed using chi-square tests and linear regression models.
Main Results:
- Preventive practices in 2002 showed improvement compared to 2000.
- Fifth-year students exhibited significant improvements in preventive practice from their third year, excluding nutrition counseling.
- Survey year, study year, knowledge, and self-reported competency explained 38% of the variation in preventive practice.
Conclusions:
- Dental student preventive practices have improved, but further enhancement is needed.
- Professional dental education should focus on modern caries-preventive methods and motivate students' oral self-care (OSC).
- Community support is vital for promoting preventive dentistry practices.