Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey on Special Care Dentistry: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Special Care Dentistry (SCD) is a dentistry branch that advocates equal dental Patient with Special Care Needs (PSCN). In several countries, it is a separate specialty. In India, it is still in its infancy. Few studies have explored the dentists' perception regarding SCD. Aim: To determine the knowledge and attitude about SCD, also the practice measures followed by the dentists in Chennai colleges. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in three dental colleges in Chennai from September 2019 to October 2019. A total of 230 dentists were enrolled using random sampling. A set of 20 close ended multiple choice questions were formulated and administered to dentists {Undergraduates (UGs) and Postgraduates (PGs)}. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was performed using MATLAB software (Mathworks, 2015), with p<0.05. Results: A 78.8% of respondents got good scores of ≥7 in knowledge based questions, 25.6% of the participants showed overall positive attitude. Educational qualification did not affect respondents’ knowledge and attitude about SCD (p>0.05). Only 21.95% of UGs and 22.31% of the PGs have good self-confidence in treating patients with special needs. More than 80% have not administered Domiciliary Care (DC). A total of 65% of participants denied getting any training in their UGs/PGs curriculum. Conclusion: Dentists in the present study are aware about SCD. Clinical measures adopted by dentists and their confidence in treating these patients are suboptimal. Training in SCD should become integral part of future dental education.