KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE AND ATTITUDES OF FINAL YEAR DENTAL STUDENTS TOWARDS ORAL POTENTIALLY MALIGNANT DISORDERS.

Aim: To assess knowledge, clinical experience and attitudes of final year dental students from six European countries towards oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD). Materials and Methods: The study was performed by online questionnaire which was sent to email addresses of all final year dental students from six European universities. Data on sex, country of study, knowledge, clinical experience and self-assessed competence in the management of OPMD patients were collected. 260 students from six European dental schools (Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom) participated in the study. Significant differences in knowledge and clinical experience between students from different countries were found. Students with greater clinical experience assessed their knowledge and competence to manage OPMD patients significantly higher than students with less clinical experience. Most of the students were interested for further education on OPMD. Results: Majority of the students had theoretical knowledge on OPMD, but some of them lacked clinical experience. Clinical experience positively affected knowledge and self-confidence for the management of these patients. Conclusion: This study identified gaps in students' knowledge and provided guidelines for modifications of students' clinical practice in order to increase their clinical exposure to OPMD patients. The study was a part of the Erasmus+ project "Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders: Training of Healthcare Professionals" (Grant No: 2020-1-UK01-KA202-078917). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]