Awareness of Diabetes Mellitus and Its Oral Health Implications among First-Year Dental Students: A Cross- Sectional Study
Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common metabolic disease with significant systemic and oral health implications. Dental professional is instrumental in identifying oral manifestations and providing preventive counselling and supporting management of diabetes. Therefore, adequate knowledge in dental students is important for future clinical practice.
Objectives: To assess the level of awareness of diabetes mellitus and its oral health consequences among first year Bachelor of Dental Surgery students and to find its association with selected demographic variables.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 112 first-year BDS students following Institutional Ethics Committee approval and written informed consent. A prevalidated questionnaire containing 21 multiple-choice questions assessed knowledge of diabetes, risk factors and prevention, diagnosis and monitoring, oral manifestations, and glycemic control in dental care. Knowledge was categorized using Bloom’s cut-off criteria. Analysis was done using SPSS software 25.0, considering p<0.05 to be statistically significant.
Results and Discussion Mean score of awareness was 15.80 ± 2.96 out of 21. Good, moderate, and poor knowledge were observed in 61.6%, 32.1%, and 6.3% of students, respectively. The highest domain-wise awareness was for glycaemic control and preventive dental care (89.3%) and the lowest was for oral manifestations (58.2%). Significantly higher awareness was seen among urban students (p=0.034) and students with family history of diabetes (p=0.018). No significant association was found with gender (p=0.203).
Conclusion: Awareness about Diabetes Mellitus was satisfactory among first year BDS students. However, deficiencies in knowledge about oral manifestations, diagnosis and monitoring indicate the need for focused undergraduate teaching and inter-disciplinary learning.
Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; Oral Health; Dental Students; Health Knowledge
