SynthesisBMC medical education2025
Oral health-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAB) of dental students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Health Literacy and Oral Health Behaviors Among Dental Medicine Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Oral Health Values, Oral Hygiene Habits, and Preventive Dental Attendance Among Health-Related and Non-Health-Related University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Orthodontic patients' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding periodontal health.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Comparative evaluation of dental caries and periodontal conditions and oral health-related quality of life of dental and medical students: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2026Observational
- Teaching Others, Reflecting Self: Does Educating Patients Impact Students' Own Plaque Control?Caries research · 2026Article
- Periodontitis awareness and knowledge levels among undergraduate dental students.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Oral Health Status (DMFT Index) and Hygiene Practices Among Dental Students in Bulgaria: A Pilot Study.Dentistry journal · 2026Article
- Association of health-promoting behaviors with oral health status among Turkish dental students: a cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Oral health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors during Ramadan: a cross-sectional study among adults in Qatar.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and consequences of geogenic fluoride exposure on oral and dental health in Nakuru, Kenya.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- Exploring community members' perceptions of oral health in rural South Africa.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- A single-group pre-post OSCE evaluation of a simulation-based clinical readiness module in pediatric dentistry.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Development and validation of a Spanish-language questionnaire to assess mothers' knowledge and practices regarding their children's oral health.Revista cientifica odontologica (Universidad Cientifica del Sur)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundOral health is an essential component of overall health. However, it is frequently overlooked. As the main providers of oral health care, dental students play an important role in public education on oral health. The aim of this study is to integrate the oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) of dental students, and provide reference for optimizing oral health education strategies.
methodsPubmed, Web of science, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane library and CINAHL databases were retrieved on September 15, 2024. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were meticulously adhered to throughout the literature review and data extraction process. All observational studies detailing the dental students' KAB related about oral health were included. A meta-analysis was conducted utilizing Stata17.0 software.
resultsNineteen articles of moderate to high quality from 17 different countries met the eligibility criteria and involved a total of 7,747 dental students. In our review, the oral health-related KAB of dental students was at a medium level and overall mean score was 7.15 (95% CI: 6.82, 7.47); among them, students have a higher level of knowledge 3.59 (95% CI: 3.21, 3.97), but relatively few positive attitudes 1.59 (95% CI: 1.23, 1.95) and behaviors 2.20 (95% CI: 2.07, 2.34) towards oral health. Subgroup analysis revealed that KAB was higher in European regions, female, and senior dental students with clinical experience.
conclusionsThe oral health-related KAB of dental students are at a medium level, among which the knowledge level is better, but the attitude and behaviors are relatively less positive. Therefore, dental educators should consider this as an opportunity to call for and strengthen the early implementation of preventive elements in curriculum and incorporate them into the overall teaching plan of dental students through various educational strategies such as early exposure to clinical scenarios and problem-based learning to positively influence students' behaviors and attitudes. The findings of this study can serve as a bias for dental educators to adjust teaching strategies in a timely manner.
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