Aim: Dentists are at high risk of hepatitis B infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of students from Ordu
univeriyt, faculty of dentistry on hepatitis
Materials and Methods: Questionnaires consisting of 76 questions related to studentsÂ’ socio-demographic status, knowledge of
hepatitis infection about the ways of transmission, prevention and risk groups, and vaccination status were distributed to all dental
students.
Results: Total of 155 students participated in the study and completed the questionairre. The level of knowledge of the 4th and 5th
year students was significantly higher than the other students (p=0.001). Fifth year students had significantly better knowledge
about the transmission and prevention ways of the hepatitis when compared with the 1st year students B (p=0.001). Although,
only 60% percent of the students have been vaccinated, the vaccination rates were higher in both 4th and 5th year-students when
compared to the other classes. Fourty-one percent of the students did not know that HBV is contagious during asymptomatic period.
Conclusion: There was a lack of knowledge about the hepatitis B infection especially among the 1st and 2nd year students. Therefore,
the continuous education of infectious diseases is required starting from the first year of the dental school.
Key words: Dental Students; Hepatitis B; Knowledge.
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