Knowledge and Awareness of Vitamin K Therapy among Dental Students

Abstract

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, important for the function of numerous proteins within the body, such as the coagulation factors, osteocalcin, and matrix-Gla protein. Vitamin K exists naturally as vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin K2 (menaquinone). Vitamin K has a plethora of potential implications, including prevention and treatment of arterial calcifications, coronary heart disease, and cancer, improvements in bone strength, and reduced risks of fractures as well as improvements in insulin sensitivity. The survey was cross-sectional in design. Following participant self-administered enrolment in the study, data were collected by a questionnaire that assessed participants’ knowledge about vitamin k therapy. This study was conducted among the clinical dental students in different dental colleges across Chennai. The questionnaire consisted of 10 multiple-choice questions. From the results, it is seen that only 10% of the participants knew that Vitamin K2 can increase bone mass while most of them were unsure. Only 16% were aware that Vitamin K2 can improve the salivary buffering capacity via its impact on the secretion of calcium and inorganic phosphates while a large 65% were not aware. Only 18% knew that Vitamin K can actually build new dentin and 60% were unsure of the same. The level of knowledge and awareness of vitamin k therapy among dental students in dental students was poor.