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June 5, 2026
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June 7, 2026
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June 27, 2026
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Abstract

Background: Dental students are the next generation of oral health educators. Despite Iraq's high oral disease burden and unique risk-factor profile, comprehensive data on oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviours (KAB) across the full undergraduate cohort at the College of Dentistry, University of Babylon Iraq's dental school are lacking. Objective: To assess oral health awareness across four domains knowledge of oral diseases, personal oral hygiene practices, awareness of oral–systemic links, and attitudes toward patient education — and to compare pre-clinical (Years 1–2) and clinical (Years 3–5) undergraduate dental students. Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted between January 2022 and June 2023. A 42-item validated self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 350 students using stratified proportional sampling across all five academic years. Data were analyses with SPSS v26 using descriptive statistics, chi-square, independent-samples t-test and ANOVA at α = 0.05. Results: Of 350 questionnaires, 320 were fully completed (response rate 91.4%). Mean age was 21.3 ± 1.7 years; 61.9% were female. Overall good knowledge was 67.5%; clinical students scored significantly higher than pre-clinical peers (78.3% vs 54.5%, p < 0.001). Twice-daily brushing was reported by 71%, flossing by 38%, and past-year dental check-up by 45%, all with clinical-year advantage. Awareness of the diabetes–oral health link was 65% and the cardiovascular link 48.1%, both significantly higher in clinical years. While 85% endorsed dental students' educator role, only 72% felt adequately prepared, rising from 50% (Year 1) to 95% (Year 5). Conclusions: Oral health awareness improves significantly across the CoDUB curriculum, but persistent gaps in self-care behavior's and systemic-link literacy argue for an earlier, more structured, vertically integrated preventive-dentistry curriculum. 

Keywords

Cross-Sectional Studies Dental Students Education Dental Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice Iraq MeSH Oral Health Oral Hygiene Patient Education as Topic

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Copyright (c) 2026 Ameer Hamdi Al-Ameedee, Israa Harjan Mohsen, Amin Adeeb, Z. Salameh, Hajir Ameer Al-Ameedee, Awab Ameer Al-Ameedee (Author)

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Ameer Hamdi Al-Ameedee (2026) “Oral Health Awareness Among Dental Students at the College of Dentistry, University of Babylon: A Cross-Sectional Survey Comparing Pre-Clinical and Clinical Years”, Future Dental Research, 4(1), pp. 49–56. doi:10.57238/fdr.2026.152576.1006.
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How to Cite

Ameer Hamdi Al-Ameedee (2026) “Oral Health Awareness Among Dental Students at the College of Dentistry, University of Babylon: A Cross-Sectional Survey Comparing Pre-Clinical and Clinical Years”, Future Dental Research, 4(1), pp. 49–56. doi:10.57238/fdr.2026.152576.1006.

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