Student’s knowledge about periodontal disease and inclusion of oral health topics in health careers

Abstract

Introduction: Periodontal disease (PD) causes premature tooth loss. This study evaluated knowledge about PD in students of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FCS) at Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was carried out applying a survey on knowledge about PD in a random sample of 177 students. Results: The knowledge about PD between students surveyed was low or intermediate at the beginning of their career, but it improved as they progressed to the second and third year. The students of the Physical Therapy Career showed lower percentages of knowledge compared to the other groups. Interestingly, students of medicine showed greater knowledge about PD than dentistry students in the third year of the career. Conclusion: In general, a basic level of knowledge about PD was observed initially, improving over time, especially among medical and dentistry students. Regarding public health interventions, it is necessary that curriculums of all health careers include aspects of oral and especially periodontal health.