Attitudes of dental students towards elderly people

Questionnaires were distributed to first, third and fifth year dental students at two British dental schools, to assess their attitudes towards the elderly. A second follow-up questionnaire was given 1 year later to the five student years attending one of these dental schools, to compare attitudes and estimate how they affected their perceptions of treating this section of the community. In both questionnaire surveys, clinical dental students had a more positive attitude towards the elderly than did students in the non-clinical years of the course. In those students who had received both questionnaires on consecutive years, there was an improved attitude score. There were no significant differences in the attitudes of male and female students.