Introduction: oral health affects both medical and physiological-social dimensions. A poor oral hygiene has been related to a higher
incidence of certain systemic diseases. At the same time, differences between oral hygiene in medical and dental students have been
reported. The purpose of this study is to describe these differences, which could lead to determine which group has poorer oral health.
Materials and methods: 50 medical students and 50 dental students had to answer a written survey. Results: significant differences were
found regarding the number of times students washed their teeth, and in the use of additional cleaning methods besides the toothbrush.
Conclusion: medical students have poorer oral health than dental students, fact that could be explained by academic differences between
the two schools.
Key words: dental hygiene, medicine students, dental students
Gattini, F., Galilea, A., Larenas, F., & Meller, M. (2012). Salud dental en estudiantes de IV año de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad de Chile, año 2010. Revista Chilena De Estudiantes De Medicina, 6(1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-672X.2012.72584