Sustainability and green dentistry among dental students in Türki̇ye: assessment of knowledge, attitudes, practices and educational needs

BMC ORAL HEALTH, ss.1-25, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
Basım Tarihi: 2026
Dergi Adı: BMC ORAL HEALTH
Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-25
Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
Yozgat Bozok Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Background: The healthcare sector contributes substantially to environmental degradation, and

dentistry—characterised by high resource consumption and waste generation—plays a notable

role. International bodies increasingly advocate integrating sustainability and green dentistry

principles into dental education. However, comprehensive assessments of dental students’

knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived curricular needs remain scarce. This study aimed toARTICLE IN PRESS

evaluate sustainability- and green dentistry-related knowledge, attitudes, practices, and

perceptions of curricular integration among dental students in Türkiye.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted during the 2025–2026 academic year

among undergraduate dental students enrolled in dental faculties across Türkiye. Ethical approval

was obtained from the Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Yozgat Bozok

University. A 43-item structured online questionnaire assessed knowledge, attitudes, practices,

and curriculum perceptions related to sustainability and green dentistry. A total of 418 students

participated. Domain scores were standardised to a 0–100 scale and compared using the Friedman

test. Differences according to gender, year of study, and prior sustainability education were

analysed.

Results: A total of 418 dental students participated in the study. Students demonstrated highly

positive attitudes toward sustainability and green dentistry (76.67 ± 19.51), whereas knowledge

(45.02 ± 24.19) and practice (61.63 ± 21.99) scores were moderate. Significant differences were

observed among the four assessed domains—knowledge, attitude, practice, and curriculum

evaluation scores (p < 0.001)—with attitude scores being the highest and knowledge scores being

the lowest. Previous sustainability-related education was associated with significantly higher

knowledge scores (p < 0.001); however, no significant differences were observed in attitude or

practice scores. Overall, the findings suggest a possible discrepancy between students’ positive

attitudes and their sustainability-related knowledge and self-reported practices.

Conclusions: Although dental students strongly support sustainability, insufficient knowledge and

limited integration into self-reported practices underscore the need for structured, practice-oriented

curricular integration to support the adoption of sustainable clinical practices.