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

Abstract

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 to evaluate sustainability- and green dentistry-related knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceptions of curricular integration among dental students in Türkiye. 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. 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. 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.