A study of periodontal disease awareness amongst third-year nursing students.

Nurses make up a large portion of health care professionals, are part of the first line of health care and in a position to provide health education, advice and referrals for patients at high risk of experiencing systemic diseases such as cancers and life-threatening illnesses that are often firstly evident in the mouth.

OBJECTIVES: To assess final-year nursing students about their awareness of periodontal disease and its impact on general health; and to ascertain their knowledge about the periodontal links to systemic disease as well as their perceived knowledge and abilities to provide informed advice and referrals to at-risk patients.

HYPOTHESIS: Third-year nursing students are limited in their awareness and knowledge of periodontal disease.

CONCLUSION: The results showed that they have a sound level of general knowledge regarding issues relating to periodontal disease. However, a majority indicated a lack of confidence and suggested more oral health knowledge should be provided within their nursing curriculum.