Background: To assess and compare oral health behaviors (OHB) of final year dental students in private

and state-run dental schools in Benghazi city, Libya.

Methods: Students from private and state-run dental schools were invited to participate in this crosssectional study. A self-administered questionnaire including closed ended questions regarding sociodemographics and OHBs was used. The main OHBs explored were teeth brushing, the usage of

fluoridated toothpaste, dental flossing, sugar consumption, dental visiting and smoking habit. Binary

logistic regression models were utilized to explore associations between OHBs and socio-demographic

variables

Results: Out of 240 students invited, only 199 completed questionnaires were analyzed (effective

response rate was 83%). The majority of the students were females (80%) who brushed their teeth daily

(90.5%) and used fluoridated toothpaste (80.2%) while 30.2 % of them used dental floss and only 7%

were smokers. Females were more likely to use fluoridated toothpaste (OR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.21 – 5.97)

and visit a dentist (OR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.21 – 4.42) compared to males, and students in the private

dental school consumed more sugary-snacks per day (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.52 – 6.75) than those who

studied in state schools.

Conclusion: Socio-demographic variables such as gender and type of school were associated to certain

oral health behaviors of dental students.