Knowledge, awareness, and practices of complementary and alternative medicine for oral health-care management among dental students.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to assess the awareness and practices of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for oral health-care management among dental students.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 200 dental students of final year and internship selected by simple random sampling using a close-ended questionnaire.


RESULTS
Among the total respondents, 52% were females and 48% were males. Nearly, 14% of the students were not aware of the different categories of the CAM and 12% of them were not aware of its implication in oral health-care management.


CONCLUSIONS
Majority of the students was aware of CAM, yet they do not follow the use of the same for their patient's oral health-care management. Hence, a small provision regarding the knowledge of CAM should be imposed under the undergraduate curriculum for the dental students so that it should be implemented in their practice in future.
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, ACPM Dental College, Dhule, Maharashtra, India.
Ujwala Rohan
UR
Newadkar
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, ACPM Dental College, Dhule, Maharashtra, India.
Lalit
L
Chaudhari
Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, ACPM Dental College, Dhule, Maharashtra, India.
Yogita K
YK
Khalekar
Awareness; complementary and alternative medicine; dental students