Yazd Journal of Dental Research

Introduction: The use of internet makes it possible to access the newest scientific information. Hence, this study aimed at investigating university students' use of internet in the dentistey school of Yazd in 2014.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 384 students of Shahid Sadoughi Dentisty School in Yazd via census method in 2014. In addition, to collect the required data, a researcher-made questionnaire was applied. Which its reliabitilty and validity were confirmed. ANOVA, T-test, and Pearson correlation coefficient, were applied to statisticeally analyze the collected data.

Results: A total of 167 men(43.5%) and 217women(56.5%)with a mean age of 25.88±5.9 years participated in this study. The lowest rate of daily internet use was 0.5 hour, and the maximum rate was 8 hours (2.67±2.54). The maximum rate of weekly internet use ranged from 1 to7 days with a mean of 5.39±1.7days. The study results demonstrated that the mean of  internet use was 39.28±08/8 out of 70 and mean of internet use skill score was  13.37±3.53 out of 25. Moreover, there was a significant difference (P=0.014) regarding the education level of the family head. A significant difference was also reported in terms of the internet use based on age(P=0.001), economic status(P=0.001),entry quotas(P=0.03), and the location of internet use(P=0.002). The low internet speed was expressed as the most important problem by 20.1% of students.

Conclusion: It is recommended to enhance the students'skills by taking necessary steps such as attending related classes regularly. In addition, technical problems such as low speed shoud be solved