Knowledge about Indian Dental Association (Kerala state branch) among dental students in Kerala

Indian Dental Association (IDA) is an independent body which is considered as the recognized voice of dental surgeons in India. The association strives to improve the public oral health by promoting advanced, evidence based dentistry that puts the patient at the centre through our initiatives in education, research and development of high standards for oral health care in India. A cross- sectional study was conducted among undergraduate dental students across 26 dental colleges in Kerala. A total of 365 students participated in the study. The data were computed and analysed. The study revealed that majority (55.9%) of the participants were unaware of the number of local branches under IDA(Kerala). High proportion of the participants (62.2%) were unaware that the IDA- HOPE scheme started in the year 2007. This study revealed that 30.1% of the study participants had good overall knowledge scores, 42.2% had fair overall knowledge scores and 27.7% had poor knowledge scores. Keywords: Dental students, Knowledge, Kerala, Indian Dental Association