Community dental visits as a catalyst for understanding oral health disparities in undergraduate dental students

Background: Oral health disparities remain a critical public health issue, highlighting the need for experiential learning in dental education Objective: To evaluate the impact of community dental visits on undergraduate dental students’ awareness, understanding, and attitudes toward oral health disparities in underserved populations. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 dental students (2nd to 4th year at Rehman College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Pakistan, from 1st March to 30th June 2023. Purposive sampling was done, and students participating in community dental visits were included. A newly developed questionnaire based on 04 major themes: awareness of students on oral health inequalities, role of community visits in raising awareness, socioeconomic factors underlying oral health disparities, and recommendations by students for dental curriculum modifications was used. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. Chi-square test and t-test were applied to compare responses. Results: A response rate of 49% (73/150) was obtained with a female-to-male ratio of 45:28. Most of the dental students in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year (82.6%, 83.3% & 95%, respectively) agreed on the lack of oral health prioritization in primary healthcare Undergraduate dental students of the 2nd year (78-95.6%), 3rd year (76.7-93.3%) & 4th year (85-95%) recommended to increase the integration of community-based dental education in BDS. Across all years, 82–90% of the participants reported heightened motivation to address dental health disparities following community visits. There was a significant difference between responses of dental students of different years regarding awareness of oral health disparities concerning socioeconomic status (p<0.05). A greater proportion of fourth-year students (80%) agreed on the relevance of socio-economic status compared to third-year (40%) and second-year (43.4%) dental students. Conclusion: Community dental visits are an effective educational strategy for enhancing undergraduate dental students’ awareness and understanding of oral health disparities. Increasing their frequency may further strengthen students’ attitudes toward addressing these disparities in underserved communities.