engleski

Undergraduate students' knowledge of temporomandibular disorders in Croatia

Aims The purpose of this study is to evaluate undergraduate students' knowledge about temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and diagnostic efficiency of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) imaging. Materials and Methods The study carried out on 37 students of School of Dental Medicine University of Zagreb, 27 students of Department of Dental Medicine at School of Medicine University of Rijeka. All students were on the last year of studying. The study included also 25 interns at University clinic in Zagreb and Rijeka. The average age of all participants (31 male, 58 female) was 24.8 years. The study consisted of a questionnaire survey (11-point scale with 0-“ disagree” to 10-“ agree” ). Results There was a statistical difference in the classification of TMDs: 55.65% of students from Rijeka considered TMDs to be a unique disorder in the human body, while 72.9% of students from Zagreb and 64% of interns thought they were related to musculoskeletal disorders from the field of rheumatology (p=0.019). In comparison with students, interns had the lowest score of personal satisfaction with the level of practical TMDs knowledge (mean score 39.1) (p=0.02) as well as the disagreement whether there is any difference in acute and chronic pain mechanisms (mean score 32.2) (p=0.013). Conclusions The level of participants’ knowledge of the all evaluated groups showed that it is important to strengthen the undergraduate dental teaching. All participants demonstrated partly inadequate knowledge, because they usually took a neutral standpoint with regards to basic TMDs statements.

dental education ; undergraduate students ; tempromandibular disorders

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