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Volume 7 Issue 10 (October, 2019)

Original Articles

Knowledge, Awareness, and Practices of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Oral Health Care – A Cross-Sectional Study among Dental Students in Ghaziabad, India
Irfan Ali

Introduction: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) represents a group of diverse medical and health-care systems, practices, and products that are not considered to be part of conventional medicine. Biofeedback, acupuncture, herbal medication, massage, bio electromagnetic therapy, meditation, and music therapy are examples of CAM treatments. Aim: The purpose of the study is to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practices of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for oral health-care management among dental students in Ghaziabad, India. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 dental students of final year and internship from a dental hospital in Ghaziabad, India. Data were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire and responses were marked with help of Likert scale. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 18.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) using statistical tests (descriptive, Pearson correlation, and independent t-test) at the significance level of p = 0.05. Results: Among the 150 study participants, 63% were females. Nearly, 12% of the students were not aware of the different categories of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and 8% of them were not aware of its implication in oral health-care management. Conclusion: The study findings concluded that majority of the students has awareness about CAM, yet they do not follow the use of the same for their patient's oral health-care management. Hence, knowledge of CAM should be included in the undergraduate curriculum of dental students. Key words: Awareness; complementary and alternative medicine; dental students.

 
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