The aim of this study was to investigate oral health behavior and attitudes of dental students in years 1 to 6 at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. The Croatian version of the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU-DBI) was administered to predoctoral dental students, and collected data were analyzed. A total of 503 students (22.3 ± 2.6 mean age) completed the questionnaire. The response rate was 85.1 percent, and 72.4 percent of the respondents were female. These dental students' answers to eleven out of twenty HU-DBI items differed significantly by academic year. The mean questionnaire score was 6.62 ± 1.54, and the highest value of the HU-DBI score was in the fourth year (7.24 ± 1.54). First-year students were most likely to have a toothbrush with hard bristles and felt they had not brushed well unless done with hard strokes. Students in the sixth year were least worried about visiting a dentist and most frequently put off going to a dentist until having a toothache, indicating that rise of knowledge contributes to higher self-confidence. The mean HU-DBI score for these students showed average value, pointing out the need for a comprehensive oral hygiene and preventive program from the start of dental school.
Keywords: Croatia; dental education; dental students; oral health attitudes; oral health behavior.