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. 2021 Dec 1;22(12):1377-1385.

Dental Practitioners' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Caries Risk Assessment and Management: A Cross-sectional Survey in Kampala Metropolitan, Uganda

Barbara Ndagire  1 , Louis Muwazi  2 , Grace Ssanyu Nabaggala  3 , Annet Kutesa  2 , Charles Mugisha Rwenyonyi  2
Affiliations

Dental Practitioners' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice in Caries Risk Assessment and Management: A Cross-sectional Survey in Kampala Metropolitan, Uganda

Barbara Ndagire et al. J Contemp Dent Pract. .

Abstract

Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding caries risk assessment (CRA) and management among dental practitioners in Kampala Metropolitan, Uganda.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 dental practitioners in Kampala Metropolitan, Uganda, in May 2021. The participants were dental surgeons and public health dental officers. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire included items about participants' sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practices in CRA and management. Attitude and practices were rated using different Likert scales. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square/Fisher's exact and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Bonferroni tests were used to analyze the data. The significance level was set at p <0.05.

Results: About 60.7% of the participants were public health dental officers with a median age of 30 years (interquartile range [IQR], 27-60). Overall, the participants were familiar with the current concepts regarding CRA and management. More than 70% of the participants correctly identified risk factors and indicators of dental caries. Most participants (98.5%) had a positive attitude toward performing CRA. However, their practices regarding caries management were inadequate as majority (>75%) of participants reported that they never or occasionally recommended evidence-based products like topical fluoride, probiotics, or xylitol products in the prevention and management of dental caries. Dental surgeons had significantly better knowledge and practices than public health dental officers (p <0.05).

Conclusion: In the present study, the participants were familiar with the current concepts about CRA and had a positive attitude toward CRA. However, their practices regarding caries prevention and management were inadequate.

Clinical significance: The study provided baseline data about knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding CRA and caries management among dental practitioners in Uganda. It is recommended to design training courses in evidence-based protocols in the prevention and management of dental caries for dental practitioners in Uganda.

Keywords: Attitude; Caries risk assessment; Dental caries management; Dental practitioners; Knowledge; Practice Uganda..

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1:
Most frequently recommended caries preventive measures according to category of dental profession
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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