Year : 2020

Volume : Volume 11

Issue : Issue 2

Address for correspondence :
Dr. Drashti Vaishnav.
drashtivaishnav1410.sdch@gmail.com

Abstract

Background:  To assess the attitude of students toward Public Health Dentistry as a career option and its importance in the field of Dentistry  Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the students of the Dental Colleges of North Gujarat, India. A questionnaire was distributed, which consisted of two parts; the first part included the demographic details and second part included 17 questions, graded on 3-point Likert scale. Written and ethical consent were obtained prior to start of the study. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013 and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0. Level of Significance value was set at ≤ 0.05.  Results: Out of total 354 participants, 34.7% were 3rd Year students, 35.3% were 4th Year students and 29.9% were interns. It was observed that 1.7% chose Public Health Dentistry as their favorite subject and 85.6% students had positive attitude toward Public Health Dentistry but not a single student was keen to choose Public Health Dentistry as their future career option.  Conclusion: Despite having positive attitude for the subject, there is a need to create interest and awareness among students by explaining future prospects of the field.

Keywords: Public Health Dentistry, Dental students, Attitude.