Oral hygiene status among medical students in the context of contemporary health professions education

Relevance. Oral diseases are the most common noncommunicable conditions worldwide, affecting more than 3.7 billion people. Dental training remains largely treatment-centered, with less emphasis on prevention, which may limit future clinicians’ ability to promote disease prevention in routine practice. This highlights the need to strengthen preventionoriented components in dental education. In the present study, artificial intelligence (AI) was integrated into the educational process as a tool for monitoring oral hygiene status over time. AI-assisted assessment can improve diagnostic consistency, reduce subjectivity, and support a more standardized evaluation of oral hygiene, thereby enhancing both assessment quality and clinical training. Objective: To use an AI-based oral hygiene assessment system to evaluate the relationship between dental education and personal oral hygiene among dental and pediatric students, and to develop preventive recommendations to be integrated into educational programs.

Materials and methods. Oral hygiene status was assessed using a standardized photographic protocol and AI-assisted dental plaque analysis. The AI system was used to determine the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S), the Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP) index, the Approximal Plaque Index (API), and the percentage of plaque-covered tooth surfaces. AI improves diagnostic objectivity and standardizes the assessment of oral hygiene status, thereby increasing diagnostic accuracy and enhancing specialist training. Students also completed a questionnaire designed to evaluate their knowledge and oral hygiene practices.

Results. In fifth-year dental students (n = 37), the mean plaque level was 13.45 ± 6.16%, the mean OHI-S score was 0.66 ± 0.42, the mean PHP score was 1.37 ± 0.59, and the mean API was 53.34 ± 18.99%. In first-year dental students (n = 49), the corresponding values were 17.46 ± 7.55%, 1.33 ± 0.54, 1.74 ± 0.81, and 72.01 ± 1.00%, respectively. In pediatric students (n = 54), the mean plaque level was 14.4 ± 1.46%, the mean OHI-S score was 0.77 ± 0.25, the mean PHP score was 1.45 ± 0.42, and the mean API was 56.35 ± 13.27%. According to the questionnaire data, 80% of students brushed their teeth twice daily. Fifth-year students were more likely than first-year students to use additional oral hygiene aids such as dental floss and oral irrigators.

Conclusion. None of the groups achieved optimal oral hygiene index values. Fifth-year dental students demonstrated oral hygiene levels broadly comparable to those observed in first-year dental students and students of the pediatric faculty. This may indicate insufficient commitment to disease prevention among future dentists, as they do not consistently model high standards of personal oral hygiene. The results point to the need to reconsider current educational approaches and to place greater emphasis on motivating students to adopt preventive behaviors in their own daily practice.

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