Knowledge and Attitude Toward Electric Toothbrush Use Among Dental Professionals in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Proper knowledge and awareness regarding electric toothbrushes may decrease the incidence of caries and indirectly reduce the burden of oral disease on the developing economy by preventing plaque-related disease on a population level. Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude toward electric toothbrush use among dentist in Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 417 dentists in Saudi Arabia. For this study, an interview-type questionnaire comprising 14 questions was designed. These questions were asked from different dentists randomly through a telephonic survey. The first part of the questionnaire was related to the basic demographic details of the dentists, that is, gender, age, type of practice, dental education, specialty, and experience, whereas the second part of the questionnaire was designed to extract the experience, attitude, and opinion of the dentists regarding electric toothbrushes. The data were compiled and analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions, version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics were employed to calculate means and percentages for demographic data. Results: Among the dental participants, 171 (41.0%) were general practitioners, 163 (39.0%) were specialist, 23 (5.6%) were postgraduate students, and 60 (14.4%) were graduate dentists. A total of 271 (65%) respondents believed better patient compliance to be the main benefit of the electric toothbrush, whereas 325 (77.9%) respondents believed that poor patient compliance was the reason for patient’s poor plaque control. Similarly, 319 (76.5%) dentists endorsed patients with manual dexterity issues. Those dentists primarily recommended electric toothbrushes to patients with medical problems. Conclusions: Knowledge of dentists in Saudi Arabia is adequate regarding electric toothbrushes; efforts should be made to improve knowledge and awareness on the use of powered toothbrushes at the patients’ level.