Current contraceptive awareness and use in Greek dental school students.
OBJECTIVE
We conducted a pilot study in female dental school students in Northern Greece in order to assess their awareness and practice of contraception.


METHODS
The study population consisted of 88 female graduating students of the dental school. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was designed to explore students' awareness and use of contraceptive methods.


RESULTS
Condoms were the most widely used contraceptive method (they were used by 52.3% of the students); 20.5% of the students were using condoms in alternation or together with coitus interruptus, and 6.8% were using only coitus interruptus. The oral contraceptive pill (OC) was used as the only contraceptive method by 4.5% of the students and in combination with condoms by 9.1% of them. The majority (53.4%) considered condoms as the most effective contraceptive method; 9.1% of the students answered "sterilization" and the same percentage stated "intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD)." Overall, 20.5% of the students believed that the OC increases the risk of cancer, and 36.4% did not know if there is an association between OC use and risk of cancer. Among students not using OC, the respective percentages were 23.7% and 42.1%. among the students, 59.1% had asked their gynecologist about contraception. The contraceptive method used and the perception regarding the most effective contraceptive method did not differ significantly between those who had consulted their gynecologist and those who had not.


CONCLUSIONS
Dental school students in Greece appear to have inaccurate knowledge on important contraceptive issues, and this is reflected in their contraceptive practices. There is a pressing need to provide scientifically based sexual education if we are to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
Dinas
Konstantinos
K
Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. konstantinosdinas@yahoo.gr
Ahiropoulos
Vasilis
V
Mavromatidis
Georgios
G
Chatzipantelis
Emmanouel
E
Zepiridis
Leonidas
L
Theodoridis
Theodoros
T
Gkoutzioulis
Fotios
F
Delkos
Dimitrios
D
Rousso
David
D
D000328:Adult; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012736:Sex Education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female