Oral Health Knowledge and Practices among Diverse University Students with Access to Free Dental Care: A Cross-Sectional Study

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate oral health knowledge and practices among under-graduate university students from various disciplines with access to free dental care. Materials and Methods: A total of 709 questionnaires were filled out. Data collected included: demographic data, oral health knowledge, and self-reported oral health practices and dental service utilization. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square analysis were performed; significance level was set at P < 0.05. Mean age was 20.8 ± 1.5 years. Results: There were (90.1%) of students who considered the toothbrush an oral hygiene aid, (91.1%) thought fluoride was beneficial to teeth, and almost (80%) students believed smoking has harmful effects on oral health. Regarding oral health practices, nearly half of the samples reported twice daily tooth-brushing, one-third received regular dental check-ups, and half visited the dentist because of pain or bleeding gums; fear was the main reason for not visiting the dentist. Females primarily visited the dentist for esthetic reasons (70%) and males upon complaint (59.8%). Oral health knowledge and practices among university students were poor. Conclusion: Dental students showed higher knowledge and better practices among disciplines studied. It is also important that dental hygienists take an active role in educating students in the aspect of oral health.