Prevalence of Pre-Eruptive Non-Carious Lesions among Dental Students and Their Attitude to These Pathologies

Purpose is to study the prevalence of pre-eruptive non-carious lesions (NCLs) among dental students and to reveal their attitude to this dental problem depends on country, age and gender. Eighty-two students took part in a study. The study consists of dental examination of dental students and filling the anonymous questionnaire of 8 questions. The analysis of dependencies was made using the Pearson Chi-square criterion. The pre-eruptive NCLs were found in 16 people (19.5 %) (CI 95%; 11.6 – 29.7). Enamel hypoplasia was diagnosed in 5 (6.09 %) students, dental fluorosis – 6 (7.31 %), anomalies of shape – 3 (3,65 %), anomalies of number – in 2 (2.43 %). When comparing the student's gender with the answer to this question statistically significant differences were revealed. Female students more often (p = 0.02) notice pre-eruptive NCLs in people of their circle to compare with male students. Russian students gave the highest number (p < 0.001) of answers that pre-eruptive NCLs affect self-esteem. It may be supposed that dental education neutralizes the influence of age and gender to the perceiving of dental esthetics, but cultural aspect still influences. These differences might be useful to take into account for the planning of dental treatment and insurance programs at university clinics. © (2024), (University of Dicle). All Rights Reserved.