[Level of knowledge about periodontal disease among university students in health and other fields. A cross-sectional...

Periodontal disease (PD), which includes conditions such as gingivitis and periodontitis, affects between 20% and 50% of the global population and is one of the leading causes of tooth loss. This condition compromises functions such as mastication, aesthetics, and overall quality of life.

To determine the level of knowledge about periodontal disease among university students from health and non-health programs at a private university in Peru.

A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 388 students (192 from health-related programs and 196 from non-health-related programs). A self-administered 15-item questionnaire was used to assess knowledge in three areas: periodontal health (7 items), oral hygiene (4 items), and sociodemographic data (4 items). The validity of the instrument was supported by a KMO index of 0.65 and a significant Bartlett's sphericity test (p<0.001). Reliability was determined using McDonald's omega coefficient (0.615). Statistical analysis included Chi-square tests and multiple linear regression, with a significance level set at p<0.05.

A total of 53.6% of participants reported brushing their teeth three times a day, with this practice being more common among non-health students (p<0.001). Regarding knowledge of PD, 72.7% demonstrated a low level of knowledge, with no significant differences by sex (p=0.39) or academic area (p=0.29). Only 1% exhibited a high level of knowledge.

The evaluated university students showed a low level of knowledge about periodontal disease, highlighting the need to integrate oral health content into university curricula in a cross-cutting and multidisciplinary manner.