Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices toward Sustainable Dentistry among Dental Students

Abstract

Background: Environmental sustainability is increasingly important in dentistry because dental care involves substantial consumption of water, energy and materials and generates diverse clinical and non-clinical waste. Assessing students' knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) can identify gaps that may be addressed through dental education.
Objective: To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices related to sustainable dentistry among dental students and determine the associations between KAP scores and selected demographic and educational characteristics.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional KAP analysis was conducted using a dataset of 150 dental students. A structured questionnaire assessed 10 knowledge items, 8 attitude statements and 8 practice items. Knowledge scores ranged from 0–10, while attitude and practice scores ranged from 8–40. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples comparisons, one-way analysis of variance, chi-square tests and Pearson correlation analysis were performed, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.
Results: The mean knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 6.43 ± 2.24, 32.71 ± 4.78 and 24.87 ± 5.64, respectively. Good knowledge was observed in 54 (36.0%) participants, positive attitudes in 112 (74.7%), and good sustainable practices in 31 (20.7%). Knowledge was significantly correlated with attitude (r = 0.696, p < 0.001) and practice (r = 0.622, p < 0.001), while attitude demonstrated the strongest correlation with practice (r = 0.798, p < 0.001). Significant differences in knowledge, attitude and practice scores were observed across academic years. Prior sustainability education was not significantly associated with overall KAP scores.
Conclusion: Dental students demonstrated generally favorable attitudes toward sustainable dentistry, but this positive orientation was not consistently translated into sustainable practices. Integrating sustainability longitudinally into dental curricula, together with practical training and institution-level environmental policies, may help reduce the knowledge-to-practice gap.