Aasim F Shah et al 262 Oral Hygiene Attitude and Behavior of Dental Students in a Government College, India 1 Aasim F Shah, 2 Choubarga Naik, 3 Subha S Dany, 4 Anup K Satpathy, 5 Prashant Rajput, 6 Suhail M Jan IJPCDR ORIGINAL ARTICLE 10.5005/jp-journals-10052-0121 1 Registrar, 2 Assistant Professor, 3 Senior Resident, 4,6 Professor and Head, 5 District Consultant 1,6 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College & Hospital, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India 2-4 Department of Dentistry, Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Sambalpur, Odisha, India 5 National Tobacco Control Program, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Moradabad Uttar Pradesh, India Corresponding Author: Choubarga Naik, Assistant Professor Department of Dentistry, Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Sambalpur, Odisha, India, Phone: +919337237290, e-mail: choubarga@gmail.com ABSTRACT Introduction: Dental caries is defned as a chemical dissolution of the tooth mineral resulting from metabolic events taking place in the dental bioflm covering the affected area. As it affects 60 to 90% of school-aged children and the vast majority of adults, dental caries is still a major health problem in most industrialized countries. In the Americas [decay, missed, flling teeth (DMFT) = 3.0] and in the European region (DMFT = 2.6), dental caries experience in children is relatively high, whereas the index is lower in most African countries (DMFT = 1.7). The oral hygiene attitude and behavior of dental health professionals affect their oral self- care habits along with their ability to motivate patients to undertake preventive oral health measures. This study was conducted to assess the oral health attitudes and behaviors among preclinical dental students in a Government Dental College, Srinagar, India. Materials and methods: All frst-year dental students were recruited for this study from Government Dental College, Sri- nagar, India. All Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) students from frst academic year were invited to complete the questionnaire in their classrooms. Sixty dental students were provided with Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) and 56 students returned the completed forms. Results: Government Dental College Students’ HU-DBI score was 5.99. The HU-DBI score of females (3.58) was higher than that of males (2.41). The female students were more worried about color of their teeth and gums compared with male students (p < 0.001) and were more likely to brush their teeth carefully than the male students (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, dental education curriculum in a dental school should consider the gender difference during motivating the students based on their attitudes and behavior of oral health during their entire course for its proper effectiveness. Keywords: Attitude, Behavior, Dental students, Hiroshima University-dental behavioral inventory, Oral hygiene. How to cite this article: Shah AF, Naik C, Dany SS, Satpathy AK, Rajput P, Jan SM. Oral Hygiene Attitude and Behavior of Dental Students in a Government College, India. Int J Prev Clin Dent Res 2017;4(4):262-264. Source of support: Nil Confict of interest: None INTRODUCTION Oral health is one of the important factors for the general well-being of an individual. The assessment of the oral hygiene attitude and behavior helps the dentist to plan the adequate strategy to improve the oral health of the population. Dental caries and periodontal disease have historically been considered the most important global oral health burdens. Dental caries is still a major health problem in most industrialized countries as it affects 60 to 90% of school-aged children and the vast majority of adults. In the Americas, dental caries experience in chil- dren is relatively high (DMFT = 3.0) and in the European region the DMFT score = 2.6, whereas the index is lower in most African countries (DMFT = 1.7). 1,2 Dental caries is defined as a chemical dissolution of the tooth mineral resulting from metabolic events taking place in the dental biofilm covering the affected area. These events are the caries process, while the resulting caries lesion is the sign of the disease. Some components of the caries process act at the tooth surface (saliva, biofilm, diet, fluoride), while another set of determinants of the process act at the indi- vidual level (a person’s behavior, knowledge, attitude, education, socioeconomic status, and income). The dental institutions are an integral part of the oral health care system in India. They help train the future professionals and expand scientific knowledge through research. 3 The oral hygiene attitude and behavior of dental health profes- sionals affect their oral self-care habits along with their ability to motivate patients to undertake preventive oral health measures. 4 The HU-DBI was used in this study. 5,6 This study was conducted to assess the oral health atti- tudes and behaviors among preclinical dental students in a Government Dental College, Srinagar, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS All first-year dental students were recruited for this study from Government Dental College, Srinagar, India.