MEDICAL STUDENTS' AWARENESS OF ORTHODONTICS- A COMPARATIVE QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY STUDY BETWEEN THE STUDENTS OF A MEDICAL COLLEGE ATTACHED WITH A DENTAL COLLEGE AND A STAND-ALONE MEDICAL COLLEGE

BACKGROUND The early treatment of malocclusion is important, because it affects quality of life. Medical practitioners have an important role to play for patients with a vast majority of health-related complaints, as they are the primary caregivers. Involvement of medical practitioners in the process of screening, detection and referral of patients with oral health problems including malocclusion will be beneficial for the prevention and management of oral diseases and effective delivery of oral health care. There have been no known studies which have compared the responses of a medical college attached with a dental college with a stand-alone medical college. Hence, it was considered pertinent to conduct this study to assess as to whether there would be any differences in attitudes and awareness of orthodontics between medical students with an attached dental college and students in a stand-alone medical college. MATERIALS AND METHODS This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Mangalore among 132 first year MBBS students at a medical college with a dental college {A} and 127 first year MBBS students in a stand-alone medical college {B}. A pre-piloted, validated, self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the students. Data collected was entered in Microsoft Excel. The statistical software package SPSS version 16.0 for Windows was employed for data analysis. Pearson's Chi-square test was used and a p-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS There was a difference between male and female students' awareness and their attitudes towards orthodontics. There were significant differences in the attitudes and awareness of the subject of Orthodontics between those students studying in a medical college with an attached dental college when compared with those medical students studying in a stand-alone medical college. CONCLUSION The medical students who studied in an institution with an attached dental college had better awareness of the subject of orthodontics as compared to medical students of a stand-alone medical college. The medical students with and without a dental college had average awareness of orthodontics as a sub-specialty of dentistry. A basic introduction to dental sub-specialties would help them identify dentofacial problems and make appropriate referrals.