Related Experiment Videos
Knowledge and attitude of Iranian dental school educators towards prevention
Mohammad R Khami1, Heikki Murtomaa, Mohammad Jafarian
1Department of Oral Public Health, Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. mohammad.khami@helsinki.fi
Purpose:
To investigate knowledge of and attitudes towards prevention of dental caries among Iranian dental educators in relation to their personal and academic background.
Materials And Methods:
Of the 15 Iranian state dental schools, 7 were selected by stratified random sampling to serve as clusters. All the present educators (n = 363) were individually asked to voluntarily complete a pre-tested anonymous questionnaire. A total of 291 educators completed the questionnaire (response rate of 80%). The questionnaire requested information on educators' knowledge of caries prevention and attitudes towards preventive dentistry. The educator's age, gender, highest academic degree, department of teaching, and familiarity with the discipline of dental public health (DPH) served as background factors. Chi-square test and a logistic regression model served in statistical analyses.
Results:
Educators working in paedodontics, operative dentistry or periodontology departments had more extensive knowledge of caries prevention than did the others (p < 0.05). Women, as well as those familiar with DPH, reported more positive attitudes towards prevention than did the others (p = 0.05). In the regression model, having a more positive attitude towards prevention was associated with female gender (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2-4.1), more extensive knowledge of caries prevention (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.1-5.6), and greater familiarity with DPH (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-4.1).
Conclusions:
Dental educators seem to have different knowledge of and attitudes towards prevention based on their disciplines. This may reflect negatively in preventive practice among both the educators and students. Continuing education activities and placing emphasis and support on prevention-related research are recommended.
Related Concept Videos
Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
Tooth Anatomy
The Crown, Neck, and Root
The visible part of the tooth is referred to as the crown. It's covered by enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. The crown is uniquely shaped for each type of tooth, allowing for different functions such as cutting, tearing, or grinding food.
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Preventive Healthcare Services
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin and...