Dental knowledge and reasons for non-utilisation of dental services among clinical medical and nursing students in the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo

Abstract

Background: Oral diseases, a pervasive global health challenge, have significant implications for overall well-being. A well-established connection exists between oral and systemic health, underscoring the importance of dental care in maintaining overall health. Despite this, medical curricula in many institutions often lack sufficient dental content, leading to inadequate dental knowledge among medical and nursing graduates. This deficiency has far-reaching consequences for patient care and
public health. This study assessed the dental knowledge and reasons for the non-utilisation of dental services among clinical medical and nursing students of the University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, carried out as a web survey, through which data on dental knowledge and dental service utilisation was collected from 222 clinical medical and nursing students. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 25. Data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis and Chi-square test was used to test association between variables. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Ethical approval was obtained
from the University of Medical Sciences Research and Ethics Committee.
Results: Majority (67.3%) of the respondents had a good dental knowledge, while 32.7% had a poor dental knowledge. Many of the participants (66.2%) did not know that patients with facial swelling should be sent to the dentists for management. Furthermore, 69.4% of participants do not know the specialty of dentistry that treat abnormally arranged teeth while only 14.4% knew Oral Medicine is the specialty of dentistry that treat unusual facial pain. Most of participants (89.2%) had not received any training in dental surgery in school. Majority (79.7%) of the study population had never visited the dental clinic in their school. Only 11.1% of participants who had visited the dental clinic visited because of preventive purposes. The primary reasons for avoiding dental care were lack of time (14.1%), perceived high cost (10.7%), self-medication (6.2%), fear of pain (5.1%),
fear of dental instruments (4%).
Conclusions: Although majority of the participants demonstrated good dental knowledge, the utilisation of dental services was low. Despite this, no correlation was found between dental knowledge and service utilisation. The primary barriers to dental care were the absence of dental complaints, lack of time, perceived high costs, and other factors. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to address these challenges and improve dental health outcomes.