Oral hygiene levels and behaviour in pre-clinical and final-year dental students

The oral hygiene levels and behavior in pre-clinical and final-year dental students attending Birmingham University 1977 were investigated. Gingival inflammation, bacterial plaque and calculus accumulations were clinically recorded. Tooth cleaning habits were assessed by a questionnaire. Oral hygiene habits differed between the two groups and an improvement in oral hygiene levels was evident in the final-year students. Statistically significant differences (P is less than 0.05) were found between the plaque index scored of the pre-clinical and final-year students, and for the gingival and calculus index scores of the male students. Thus in this investigation it was possible to show that improvement in oral hygiene does occur between the pre-clinical and final year of the undergraduate course.