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Comparative Study
. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):1070.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-06476-3.

Influence of dental education, nutrition, and oral hygiene practices on DMFT and CPITN scores: a comparative cross-sectional study

Gökhan Karadağ  1 , Dilek Hançerlioğulları  2 , Merve Haberal  3 , Akif Nalbant  4
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Influence of dental education, nutrition, and oral hygiene practices on DMFT and CPITN scores: a comparative cross-sectional study

Gökhan Karadağ et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the DMFT (Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth) and CPITN (Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs) scores, nutritional habits, and oral hygiene behaviors of first-year (Class-1) and fifth-year (Class-5) dental students at Kırıkkale University Faculty of Dentistry, and to compare these metrics with age-matched general population patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, DMFT and CPITN scores were recorded for three distinct groups: Class 1 and Class 5 dental students, and a randomly selected group of age-matched patients from the general population who applied to our clinic. The effects of individual social and behavioural characteristics on these indexes were examined. Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparisons between groups. Chi-Square analysis was used in the evaluation of categorical data. A significance level of 0.05 was used.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms for gender (p = 0.331), number of snacks (p = 0.406), tooth brushing (p = 0.069), toothbrush type (p = 0.244) and mouthwash use (p = 0.562). However, the Class-5 group showed a significant difference from the other groups with the highest number of "yes" answers in the question of visit to the dentist for a check-up (82%, p < 0.001) and the question of flossing (61%, p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in overall DMFT (p = 0.053) or CPITN (p = 0.329) scores between the groups. However, when the subcomponents of the DMFT index were evaluated separately, the Class-5 group had the statistically significantly lowest mean decayed teeth (D) compared to the other two groups (p < 0.001), and the statistically significantly highest mean filled teeth (F) score compared to the other two groups (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Oral health behaviors and outcomes are influenced by dental education level.

Keywords: CPITN; Caries; DMFT; Periodontal disease; Questionnaire.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was received for this study from Kırıkkale University Non-Interventional Research Ethics Committee (Decision No: 2023.09.17). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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