Oral health understanding, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among healthcare specialists like dentists affect their ability to encourage good oral health in patients. This analysis aimed to assess and compare oral health KAP between dental students at public and private universities in Erbil, Iraq. A cross-sectional survey of 882 undergraduate dental students from Haller Medical University (public) and Tishk International University (private) in Erbil was conducted using the 20-item HU-DBI questionnaire Used statistical tests were used to analyze scores according to gender, academic year and university type. The mean HU-DBI score was 7.06±1.71, indicating high oral health KAP. Women scored slightly higher than men. Hospital students showed significantly higher scores (7.39±1.68) than clinical students (6.76±1.69) (p<0.001). Students in public universities scored higher (7.18±1.71) than in private universities (6.95±1.71) (p=0.045). Dental students in Erbil showed good KAP in oral health, scoring better among hospital students and public universities. The results highlight the importance of dental education in improving oral health attitudes and behaviors