Assessment of knowledge and awareness of probiotics among the dental post-graduate students- A questionnaire study

Background: Probiotics are viable microorganisms, and when they are administered in an adequate amount, they provide health benefits to the host. The use of probiotics is said to be an important aspect in dentistry in the prevention and treatment of caries, periodontal disease, etc. Aims: The purpose of the present research was to access knowledge and awareness of probiotics among dental postgraduate students. Settings and Design: A total of 104 dental postgraduate respondents from Maharashtra state were surveyed regarding the knowledge of probiotics.The study includes first, second, and third-year dental postgraduate students. A well-structured and administered questionnaire including 15 questions was used to elicit the responses from the dental postgraduate students.Methods and Material: The online survey was distributed via email and social media platforms using snowball sampling and was open for a week. The questions were modeled based on those used in previously published studies on the knowledge of probiotics. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions. The survey took less than 15 minutes on average to complete.Statistical Analysis Used: Data entries were done in Microsoft Office Excel 2010, and analyses of results were done using Statistical product and service solution (SPSS) version 21 software. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentage/proportion were calculated. Pearson Chi-square test was used to find out the difference between responses of study subjects.Results: Of the 104 postgraduate students in total, 68.3% of respondents were females, and 31.7% were males. The study reveals 98% of participants are aware of the term probiotics and 94.1% of respondents correctly answered that constituents of probiotics are live microorganisms. More than half of the respondents (52%) had taken probiotics as a therapeutic drug for gastrointestinal purposes. 76.5% of respondents thought it helps in the improvement of oral health.Conclusions: In the present study, a good level of knowledge was observed among dental postgraduate students. Most of them were aware of the beneficial effects of probiotics on the human body in terms of food digestion and immunity. However, they still lack the other health benefits of probiotics. Also, there was little less knowledge and clarity about the term prebiotic.