Journal of International Dental and Medical Research ISSN 1309-100X Self-Medication for Dental Pain http://www.jidmr.com Mahyunah Masud and et al Volume ∙ 13 ∙ Number ∙ 2 ∙ 2020 Page 697 The Practice, Perception, and Awareness of Self-Medication for Dental Pain in Malaysian Dental Students Mahyunah Masud 1 , Zaty Ainaa Mohamed 2 , Nur Farhaanah Azman 2 , Mohd Aizat Abdul Rahim 3 1. Center for Periodontology Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Jalan Hospital, Sungai Buloh, 47000, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. 2. Faculty of Dentistry, UiTM, Malaysia. 3. Centre for Pre-Clinical Sciences Studies, Faculty of Dentistry, UiTM, Malaysia. Abstract Self-medication (SM) is using drugs on own free-will instead of being prescribed by healthcare providers. It is practiced among the population, but little is known among young adults in Malaysia. When dental students enter the first year at the university, their knowledge on medication was based on the exposure at home and school. When exposed to knowledge on diseases, medication and prescription during university days, they would have learnt on the management of dental pain. So, this study was done to determine the practice of SM for dental pain, and to compare the groups on the prevalence, factors, perception and awareness. Data of 123 responses on validated self- administered questionnaires was analysed using SPSS version 23 for descriptive statistics, t-test and one-way ANOVA. The prevalence of SM practice was 37% for year1 and 61% for year5 who have better ability to diagnose and treat dental pain and thus seemed to be more at ease on SM. Sixty four year1 used salt, hot water, ice pack as medication while 50% of year5 took analgesic for the pain. Both groups perceived that SM is acceptable, seemed to have taken when available to save time and cost. Fear of dental treatment and instruments encouraged SM. Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2020; 13(2): 697-703) Keywords: Self-medication, practice, perception, awareness, dental pain. Received date: 10 January 2020 Accept date: 01 February 2020 Introduction Self-medication (SM) is the act or process of medicating oneself especially without the advice of a physician. It can also mean self- treatment 1 . Globally, SM is a major concern in a healthcare system as its practice has been widespread to cause detrimental consequences due to abuse, misuse and inappropriate use. A review paper on SM highlighted various factors that affect SM practices such as income, age, prior knowledge, education and occupation. The most common ailments for SM were cold, fever and body-ache. Analgesics and antibiotics were prevalent drugs used and the source of information through personal experience and credible sources like chemists, friends and family. However this study stated that SM was not related with the educational level of patients but more for affordability and quick relief 2 . A study by Anjan Giriraju in 2014 stated that SM prescription was found to be obvious and at an alarming rate of 70.9%. Dental pain due to caries seemed to be the most common reason. It could also come from the periodontal tissues or from non-dental origin such as sinusitis and tumours 3 . Pain experienced by the patients during orthodontic treatment started one hour after initial arch wire placement, peaked after one day, and became severe in 1 and 3 days. There was no mention on medication prescribed to the patients or if patient self- medicate for the pain 4 . Pain killers can temporarily relieve dental pain; however, the underlying cause of dental pain still needs to be treated. Antibiotics may be taken as an adjunct to treatment especially one related to bacterial infection as a cause of dental pain. In this study, most of the respondents consulted *Corresponding author: AP Dr Mahyunah Masud Bds( Malaya), Msc (London) Center of Periodontology Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Jalan Hospital, 47000, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail : mahyunah@uitm.edu.my; mahyunah@yahoo.com