Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity

Aims: Obesity is a chronic medical condition associated with various oral health problems. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity. Material and methods: Second-, third-, and fourth-year dental students completed a self-adminis...

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Main Authors: K.H. Awan, S. Khan, Z. Abadeen, T. Khalid
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-01-01
Series:Saudi Dental Journal
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101390521500022X
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author K.H. Awan
S. Khan
Z. Abadeen
T. Khalid
author_facet K.H. Awan
S. Khan
Z. Abadeen
T. Khalid
author_sort K.H. Awan
collection DOAJ
description Aims: Obesity is a chronic medical condition associated with various oral health problems. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity. Material and methods: Second-, third-, and fourth-year dental students completed a self-administered questionnaire. An ethics committee approved the study. Participants were asked questions focused on three areas: (i) knowledge, (ii) perceptions, and (iii) attitudes about obesity. Data analyses were carried out using SPSS version 20. Results: Among the dental students, 78.9% received 0–1 h of formal education about obesity. The mean score of the total time allocated for obesity-related education was 1.31 ± 0.23 h. Eighty-nine percent of the dental students agreed that obesity is a chronic medical condition, 30% agreed that they would modify their equipment and office furniture to accommodate obese patients, and 46.8% were interested in learning more about obesity in dental school. Conclusion: Obesity-related education should be implemented as a formal component of dental student training. Oral health practitioners should also provide their patients with information about how weight loss is beneficial to both general and oral health. Keywords: Obesity, Dental students, Knowledge, Questionnaire study
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spelling doaj.art-5581e06870ce4feebad1ac205895a3af2022-12-22T03:05:51ZengElsevierSaudi Dental Journal1013-90522016-01-012814448Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesityK.H. Awan0S. Khan1Z. Abadeen2T. Khalid3Department of Oral Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author at: Department of Oral Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 60169, Riyadh 11545, Saudi Arabia. Tel.: +966 1 467 7422; fax: +966 1 467 9018.Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Riphah International University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaAims: Obesity is a chronic medical condition associated with various oral health problems. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity. Material and methods: Second-, third-, and fourth-year dental students completed a self-administered questionnaire. An ethics committee approved the study. Participants were asked questions focused on three areas: (i) knowledge, (ii) perceptions, and (iii) attitudes about obesity. Data analyses were carried out using SPSS version 20. Results: Among the dental students, 78.9% received 0–1 h of formal education about obesity. The mean score of the total time allocated for obesity-related education was 1.31 ± 0.23 h. Eighty-nine percent of the dental students agreed that obesity is a chronic medical condition, 30% agreed that they would modify their equipment and office furniture to accommodate obese patients, and 46.8% were interested in learning more about obesity in dental school. Conclusion: Obesity-related education should be implemented as a formal component of dental student training. Oral health practitioners should also provide their patients with information about how weight loss is beneficial to both general and oral health. Keywords: Obesity, Dental students, Knowledge, Questionnaire studyhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101390521500022X
spellingShingle K.H. Awan
S. Khan
Z. Abadeen
T. Khalid
Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
Saudi Dental Journal
title Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
title_full Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
title_fullStr Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
title_short Knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
title_sort knowledge perceptions and attitudes of dental students towards obesity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S101390521500022X
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AT zabadeen knowledgeperceptionsandattitudesofdentalstudentstowardsobesity
AT tkhalid knowledgeperceptionsandattitudesofdentalstudentstowardsobesity