Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among student nurses at a university in South Africa

Background: Poor oral health resulting from poor knowledge, negative attitudes and poor practices contributes to oral diseases. Oral diseases remain a public health concern and negatively affect student nurses’ academic performance. These students should serve as role models in promoting oral health among communities. A lack of oral self-care among student nurses may raise a health concern. Aim: To assess student nurses’ knowledge, determine their attitude and practices regarding oral health at a Western Cape university.Set ting: This study was conducted at a Western Cape university, South Africa, which offers undergraduate nursing programmes. Methods: A quantitative approach with a descriptive design was conducted, and data were collected from a quota sample of 287 student nurses using a self-administered questionnaire. Data captured into IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences computer program IBM SPSS Statistics version 28.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United States), were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests to test associations. Results: The response rate was 97.9% (281/287). Most of the respondents did not recognise the importance of brushing twice daily and flossing once, and only 98 (34.9%) were knowledgeable. A positive attitude was noted among the majority of the respondents (261, 92.9%) who agreed that oral health knowledge can contribute to the prevention of tooth loss. Good practices were noted among most of the respondents (277, 98.6%) who cleaned their teeth daily with a toothbrush. Conclusion: Student nurses had poor oral health knowledge, mixed attitudes and fair oral health practices. This study highlights the need for the formal integration of oral health into the nursing curriculum. Contribution: This study contributed to the body of knowledge in nursing research and education.