Inventory of dental students´ needs regarding oral health literacy concept

Abstract

Aim: to evaluate the knowledge among a group of dental students regarding oral health literacy concept and their needs to improve education level in this regard. Material and method: They were collected data on oral health literacy (OHL) knowledge among 6th year dental students from “Carol Davila” U.M.P. Bucharest, Romania. Students involved in the study attended a lecture on this subject and a practical course about OHL level's evaluation tools. Results: before lessons, 210 dental students (mean age 24.3±1.82; 64.8% females) have answered to an anonymous questionnaire and we found out a medium level of knowledge regarding the definition of the concept (33.7% give the right answer) and about the OHL role in: communication with patients (57.5%), health promotion (25.8%), oral diseases prevention (37.3%) and adherence to dental treatment (12.4%). After attending the course and the practical training, most of students recognized the factors affected by oral health literacy skills: dental health knowledge of the individuals/patients (89.9%), health behavior (78.9%) and doctor-patient communication (98.2%). Conclusion: dental students, as future health providers need dental education throughout curricula regarding oral health literacy, an important aspect associated with inequalities in health status and getting communication skills for a patient-centered dental care, according with individual's oral health literacy abilities.