Knowledge, Awareness, and Practices of Green Dentistry Among Dental Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Despite growing interest in Green Dentistry (GD), the topic remains largely absent from dental undergraduate curriculum in many regions worldwide. This study aims to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practices of GD among dental undergraduate students.

Dental undergraduate students in their clinical academic years were recruited from Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A 37-item validated, self-administered online questionnaire assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to GD was used. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted.

A total of 120 dental undergraduate students participated with a response rate of 77.4%. The knowledge mean score was 5.03 ± 2.58 (out of 11). Only 10.8% of participants had good knowledge on GD. Age was the only significant demographic predictor of knowledge and practice scores (p < 0.05). Higher knowledge scores were significantly associated with greater awareness (AOR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.36-2.30, p < 0.05). Awareness of GD was significantly influenced by age (AOR = 9.99, 95% CI: 1.03-96.80, p < 0.05) and training (AOR = 4.81, 95% CI: 1.35-17.21, p < 0.05).

Knowledge of GD among UM dental undergraduates was poor, with significant associations found between knowledge, awareness, and practice behaviors. These findings highlight the need to integrate GD into the dental curricula to enhance knowledge and promote sustainable practices.