Knowledge towards Geriatric Population and the Use of Tele-Dentistry in Their Dental Problem Management among Dental Graduates

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the knowledge of geriatric dentistry among dental undergraduate students and the use of teledentistry to manage dental problems in geriatric patients.

Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional study comprised students attending the College of Dentistry in Saudi Arabia. They were divided into pre-course (students from the 3rd and 4th years), Course (students from the 5th year), and post-course (interns). All participating students were asked to complete a three-part questionnaire. The chi-square test was used to compare the percentages of responses for each question. The information obtained was analyzed using IBM Corp. (SPSS Version 21.0) with a 95% confidence interval, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: The questionnaire was sent to 140 students, and only 126 students responded. Among them, 64 (51%) were females and 62 (49%) were males. Based on the course, the majority of them were pre-course (53%), followed by the course (18%) and post-course (29%).  The study revealed that post-course students demonstrated improved knowledge and application of teledentistry, with scores above 60% on three questions. This underscores the need for targeted education to enhance care for the geriatric population. Pre-course students scored moderately on three questions, while course students scored moderately on one.

Conclusion: The study found that post-course students achieved higher scores than pre-course and course students, indicating a significant improvement in their understanding and application of teledentistry. This highlights the importance of targeted education in enhancing care for the geriatric population.