Assessment of the level of knowledge in oral health among Nursing students at UNIANDES-Ambato University
Keywords:
CARIES DENTAL; CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICA EN SALUD; ESTUDIANTES DE ENFERMERÍA; FLÚOR; HIGIENE BUCAL; SALUD BUCAL., DENTAL CARIES; HEALTH KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, PRACTICE; STUDENTS, NURSING; FLUORINE; ORAL HYGIENE; ORAL HEALTH., CÁRIE DENTÁRIA; CONHECIMENTOS, ATITUDES E PRÁTICA EM SAÚDE; ESTUDANTES DE ENFERMAGEM; FLÚOR; HIGIENE BUCAL; SAÚDE BUCAL.Abstract
Introduction: oral health is an essential component of overall well-being, as its deterioration is associated with multiple systemic diseases and impacts individuals’ quality of life.
Objective: to assess the level of knowledge about oral health among Nursing students at UNIANDES-Ambato University.
Methods: an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study with a mixed approach was conducted in 2024, involving a purposive sample of 109 Nursing students who met the inclusion criteria. Data collection was carried out through a survey, and the information was processed using descriptive statistics. Bioethical principles were respected.
Results: of the participants, 74,31 % were women, and the predominant age group was over 24 years (41,28 %). Regarding knowledge, 93,58 % recognized the relationship between bacteria and dental caries, 96,33 % affirmed that toothbrushing prevents caries, and 66,06 % identified fluoride as a preventive measure. In terms of practices, 73,39 % reported brushing for more than three minutes, and 69,72 % reported changing their toothbrush every 1–3 months. In the overall classification, 79,82 % achieved a good level, 17,43 % a fair level, and 2,75 % a low level.
Conclusions: nursing students demonstrated a predominantly good level of knowledge about oral health, highlighting appropriate hygiene and preventive practices. However, gaps were identified in recognizing the role of fluoride and in specific brushing techniques, underscoring the need to strengthen interdisciplinary training in oral health to optimize comprehensive patient care.
Downloads
References
1. Ramirez P. Desarrollo de capacidades de investigación para estudiantes universitarios mediante el uso de estrategias instruccionales en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje. Apertura[Internet]. 2020[Citado 10/12/2025]; 12(1). Disponible en: http://www.udgvirtual.udg.mx/apertura//index.php/apertura/article/view/1842
2. Pérez Pino M, Enrique Clvero JO, Carbò Ayala JE, Gonzàlez Falcòn M. La evaluación formativa en el proceso enseñanza aprendizaje. EDUCENTRO[Internet]. 2017[Citado 10/12/2025]; 9(3): 263-283. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2077-28742017000300017
3. Villalon P, Abad L, Hernández G. Percepción de pacientes respecto a la enfermedad periodontal en la Clínica Estomatológica Docente "Julio Antonio Mella", Guantánamo. Rev Inf Cient[Internet]. 2020[Citado 10/12/2025]; 99(4): 349-358. Disponible en: http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1028-99332020000400349
4. Khan M, Usman M. Education Quality and Learning Outcomes in Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan. Taylor’s 7th Teaching and Learning Conference 2014 Proceedings: Holistic Education: Enacting Change. Singapore: Springer Singapore[Internet]; 2015[Citado 10/12/2025]. Disponible en: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-287-399-6_41
5. Santa Cruz González NO, Pérez Aquino CF, Villagra Rivera N, Achucarro Galeano S. Nivel de conocimientos y prácticas sobre salud bucodental de estudiantes de posgrado de la Carrera de Enfermería de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad Católica de Asunción. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud[Internet]. 2019[Citado 10/12/2025]; 17(2): 56-63. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.18004/mem.iics/1812-9528/2019.017.02.56-063
6. Marques AP. Association of clinical, social and enviromental variables with dental caries prevalence in adolescents from a Brazilian municipality supplied with fluoridated water. Cad Saúde Colet[Internet]. 2021[Citado 10/12/2025]; 29(4). Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1590/1414-462X202129040345
7. Catalá M, Cortés O. La caries dental: una enfermedad que se puede prevenir. An Pediatr Contin[Internet]. 2014[Citado 10/12/2025]; 12(3): 147-51. Disponible en: https://www.elsevier.es/es-revista-anales-pediatria-continuada-51-pdf-S1696281814701842
8. Vaca G, Cubi D, Mena P. PREVALENCIA EN EL CUIDADO DENTAL E HIGIENE DE LOS ESTUDIANTES EN TIEMPO DE CUARENTENA. Revista Conrado[Internet]. 2022[Citado 10/12/2025]; 18(S2): 146-151. Disponible en: https://conrado.ucf.edu.cu/index.php/conrado/article/view/2451/2375
9. Artés J, Pedraja-Chaparro F, del Mar J. Research performance and teaching quality in the Spanish higher education system: Evidence from a medium-sized university. Research Policy[Internet]. 2017[Citado 10/12/2025]; 46(1): 19-29. Disponible en: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733316301664
10. Becerra P, Parra A,Jouannet J. Conocimiento, actitudes y prácticas en salud oral en adolescentes de 12 y 15 años d e la localidad de Fresia. Rev Chilena de Salud Pública[Internet]. 2014[Citado 10/12/2025]; 18(2): 140-148. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-5281.2014.31975
11. Renyer K, McFadden P. The Dental Fluoridation Potential of Drinking Water. Compend Contin Educ Dent[Internet]. 2022 Apr[Citado 10/12/2025]; 43(4): E5-eE8. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35334199/
12. Taher MK, Momoli F, Go J, Hagiwara S, Ramoju S, Hu X, Jensen N, Terrell R, Hemmerich A, Krewski D. Systematic review of epidemiological and toxicological evidence on health effects of fluoride in drinking water. Crit Rev Toxicol[Internet]. 2024 Jan[Citado 10/12/2025];54(1):2-34. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/10408444.2023.2295338
13. Canales D, Cooper F. Conocimiento estudiantil sobre enfermedad periodontal e inclusión de temas de salud oral en carreras de la salud. Innovare: Rev Cienc Tecnol[Internet]. 2019[Citado 10/12/2025]; 8: 81-87. Disponible en: https://revistas.unitec.edu/innovare/article/view/86/70
14. Rizzo L, Torres A, Martinez C. Comparación de diferentes técnicas de cepillado para la higiene bucal. CES Odontología[Internet]. 2016[Citado 10/12/2025]; 29(2): 52-64. Disponible en: http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0120-971X2016000200007&lng=en&tlng=es.
15. Pérez N, Ferreira M, Alarcón V. Comparación del tiempo de cepillado de la técnica habitual con la técnica de Bass en estudiantes de Odontología. Mem Inst Invest Cienc Salud[Internet]. 2016[Citado 10/12/2025]; 14(3): 81-85. Disponible en: https://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/portal/resource/essiqueira/biblio-869102
16. Solis G, Pesaressi E, Mormontoy W. Tendencia y factores asociados a la frecuencia de cepillado dental en menores de doce años, Perú 2013-2018. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Pública[Internet]. 2019[Citado 10/12/2025]; 36(4): 562-572. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2019.364.4888
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Gabriela Liseth Vaca-Altamirano
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who have publications with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors will retain their copyrights and grant the journal the right of first publication of their work, which will be publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY-NC 4.0) that allows third parties to share the work as long as its author and first publication in this journal are indicated.
Authors may adopt other non-exclusive license agreements for distribution of the published version of the work (e.g.: deposit it in an institutional telematic archive or publish it in a volume). Likewise, and according to the recommendations of the Medical Sciences Editorial (ECIMED), authors must declare in each article their contribution according to the CRediT taxonomy (contributor roles). This taxonomy includes 14 roles, which can be used to represent the tasks typically performed by contributors in scientific academic production. It should be consulted in monograph) whenever initial publication in this journal is indicated. Authors are allowed and encouraged to disseminate their work through the Internet (e.g., in institutional telematic archives or on their web page) before and during the submission process, which may produce interesting exchanges and increase citations of the published work. (See The effect of open access). https://casrai.org/credit/
