Abstract: Objective To understand the attitudes and confidence of nursing students towards oral health and analyze the influencing factors,in order to provide a theoretical basis for the relevant departments of government and schools to develop related policies to improve the oral health literacy of nursing students,and establish correct attitudes and confidence in oral health care. Methods The convenience sampling was used to select 457 undergraduate nursing students from nursing college of a university in Hangzhou in March 2024 as the research subjects. The general information questionnaires,the short-form of health literacy in dentistry（HeLD-14） and the attitude and confidence with oral healthcare among nursing students scale（ACORN） were used to survey nursing students. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the correlation between nursing students' attitudes and confidence in oral health care and their oral health literacy. The multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify the influencing factors of nursing students' attitudes and confidence in oral health care. Results The total score of the Chinese version of the ACORN scale was （127.91±20.24）points,with attitude towards the role of nurses in oral health care at （47.13±8.14）points,confidence in providing comprehensive oral health care at （20.79±4.50）points,confidence in undertaking basic oral health assessment at （31.20±6.38）points,and confidence in undertaking advanced oral health assessment at （28.78±7.36）points.Pearson correlation analysis results showed a positive correlation between nursing students' attitudes and confidence in oral health care and their oral health literacy（r=0.556,P<0.01）.The multiple linear regression results indicated that self-rated oral health status and oral health literacy were influencing factors of nursing students' attitudes and confidence in oral health care（all P<0.05）. Conclusions The nursing students in nursing college of a university in Hangzhou City exhibit moderate attitudes and confidence in oral health care,with their oral health literacy falling below a moderate level. The nursing students with a high level of oral health literacy tend to have better attitudes and confidence in oral health care,while those who rate their oral health as good tend to have poorer attitudes and confidence in oral health care. The government and school-related departments can develop targeted improvement strategies based on the influencing factors to enhance the oral health literacy of nursing students and improve their attitudes and confidence in oral health care.

Key words: Nursing students, Oral health care, Nursing education, Attitude, Confidence, Influencing factors, Personnel training