Knowledge of senior dental students regarding the antifungal medication of oral candidiasis

Abstract

Management of oral candidiasis may become a challenge particularly in medically compromised individuals. Inappropriate prescription of antifungal agents promotes drug resistance. So, this study aimed to assess the students' knowledge of antifungal drug prescription. This cross-sectional, questionnaire based study was carried out in Tabriz school of dentistry, Iran. 90 multiple-choice questionnaires which included questions on the management of oral candida infections were distributed among the senior dental students. Descriptive statistics and frequency distributions were performed on the data. Nystatin was the most popular agent (62.2%) prescribed followed by amphotericin B (46.6%). Chlorhexidine was an alternative to medication in 25.5% while combination of chlorhexidine and antifungal medication was selected in 51.1%. More education is needed to improve knowledge of dental students regarding the treatment of oral candidiasis and proper antifungal therapy.