Evidence-based prevention: a comparison of oral hygiene advice given by dental and dental care professional students

Aim This study aimed to examine the oral hygiene advice given by student dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs), focussing on adherence to evidence-based recommendations provided by the Department of Health and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Method A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 121 fourth- and fifth-year dental undergraduates and 38 hygiene/combined dental hygiene and dental therapy students at a UK dental school. Results Completed questionnaires were returned by 39/64 fourth-year and 36/57 fifth-year dental students and 23/38 student DCPs, an overall response rate of 61.6%. Only 48% (36) of dental undergraduates in comparison with 95.7% (22) of DCP students stated that they would give oral hygiene advice to every adult patient (P < 0.001). In addition, only 24 (32%) responding dental students were able to accurately state the recommended fluoride toothpaste concentration for adult use; this contrasts with 18 (78.3%) student DCPs. Dental undergraduates tended to accord less importance to oral hygiene advice when compared with student DCPs, only providing it when they felt it was clinically necessary. Conclusions The role of the dental practitioner in providing oral health education requires greater emphasis in the undergraduate curriculum. Given the unfavourable comparison between the attitude and knowledge of dental students and that of DCPs, prequalification training for the dental team should be integrated wherever possible. The apparent lack of awareness of current guidelines is of concern