title: Dental students' perceived barriers in geriatric dental care active involvement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study assessed dental students' perceived barriers to geriatric dental care provision.
  
  
  METHODS
  Out of 512 dental students in Iranian dental schools were participated in the study 464 were completed the questionnaire. The mean age of the dental students was 25.5 ± 2.8 years; 67% were women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most of the participants (79%) did not have any training focused on geriatric dental care, and the vast majority (more than 83%) had no experience with geriatric dental care. The primary barriers to provide dental care to the elderly that dental student mentioned included insufficient knowledge of geriatric dental care and perceived lack of communication skills and self-confidence in managing elderly patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased emphasis on geriatric dental education in the undergraduate dental curriculums needed to minimize the barriers and improving dental students' willingness to serve older people.
authors.forename: Bahareh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hatami
authors.affiliation: Community Oral Health Department, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Daneshjoo Blvd., Evin, Tehran, Tel: +911983963113, Fax: +9821-22421813; e-mail: aebnahmady@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Arezoo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebn Ahmady
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Khoshnevisan
authors.forename: Harry A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Lando