(21% and 13%, respectively; P≤.001 and P<.001, respectively). The proportion of the preclinical students who believed that having false teeth was inevitable (30%) was significantly higher than the clinical students (10%) (P<.001). Moreover, 43% Table 1. Questionnaire items of the HU-DBI. In the calculation of HU-DBI; (A): One point is given for each of these agree responses, (D): One point is given for each of these disagree responses. Item No. Item descriptions 1 I don’t worry much about visiting the dentist 2 My gums tend to bleed when I brush my teeth (D) 3 I worry about colour of my teeth 4 I have noticed some white sticky deposits on my teeth (A) 5 I use a child-sized toothbrush 6 II tahminokldth(aDt)I cannot help having false teeth when 7 I am bothered by the colour of my gums 8 Ibtrhuisnhkinmgy( Dte)eth are getting worse despite my daily 9 I brush each of my teeth carefully (A) 10 I have never been professionally taught how to brush (D) 11 I think I can clean my teeth without using toothpaste (A) 12 I often check my teeth in a mirror after brushing (A) 13 I worry about having bad breath 14 iInt gisailmonpeos(Dsi)ble to prevent gum disease with toothbrush- 15 I put off going to the dentist until I have a toothache (D) 16 I have used a dye to see how clean my teeth are (A) 17 I use a toothbrush which has hard bristles 18 Istdroonk’etsfeel I’ve brushed well unless I brush with strong 19 I(Af)eel I sometimes take too much time to brush my teeth 20 I have had my dentist tell me that I brush very well 21 I am satisfied with the appearance of my teeth 22 I brush my teeth twice daily or more 23 I use dental floss on regular basis everyday 24 I use mouthwash on regular basis 25 I smoke cigarettes 26 I smoke more than ½ pack per day 27 I have been smoking for more than one year Table 2. Distribution of the students by academic year and gender. Academic Year 1 2 3 4 5 Total SD: Standard deviation July 2011 - Vol.5 Yildiz, Dogan of the clinical students believed that there was no need to use a toothpaste, while significantly lower proportion of the preclinical students (28%) believed so (P<.001). Although the preclinical students were significantly (P<.001) more likely to believe that it was impossible to prevent gum disease with tooth brushing alone (70%), the per- centage of agree response to this item (Item 14) among the clinical students was still high (51%). Oral health behaviour The clinical students were more likely to brush their teeth carefully (76%) than the preclinical students (61%), (P<.001). The clinical students were significantly (P<.01) less likely to use a hard bristled toothbrush (15%) than the preclinical students (24%) and while 32% of the preclinical students brushed with strong strokes, 17% of the clinical students did so (P<.001). Despite the sig- nificant increase in flossing behaviour during their dental education, only 19% of the preclinical and 31% of the clinical students used dental floss daily (P<.001). Smoking behaviour was significantly (P<.01) higher among the clinical students (33%) than the preclinical students (22%). From those who smoke cigarettes, 64% of the preclinical stu- dents and 85% of the clinical students smoked more than half pack per day (P<.001). In addition, 88% of the preclinical and 99% of the clinical den- tal students who smoke had been smoking for more than one year (P<.001). Majority of the dental students brushed their teeth twice daily or more (74%), often checked their teeth after brushing (83%) and worried about having bad breath (76%) (Table 3). Self-reported oral health and dental visits One fourth of the preclinical students reported gum bleeding while 13% of the clinical ones did so (P<.001). Besides, almost half of the preclini- No. of male students (%) 94 (56%) 73 (46%) 98 (62%) 106 (61%) 57 (55%) 428 (56%) No. of female students (%) 73 (44%) 87 (54%) 61 (38%) 68 (39%) 47 (45%) 336 (44%) Total no. of students (%) 167 (21.8) 160 (20.9) 159 (20.8) 174 (22.7) 104 (13.6) 764 (100%) Mean age±SD 19.75±0.98 20.69±0.82 21.95±1.95 22.87±1.29 24.13±1.38 21.71±1.98 255 European Journal of Dentistry