Abstract

Background: Newly emerging materials are gaining popularity in application amongst dental specialists.

Aim: To determine the level of knowledge and attitude among dentists towards botulinum toxin (BTX) use in the dental practice.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methodology: A total number of 199 dentists responded to the questionnaire, out of which 62 were from Saudi Arabia and 137 were from Pakistan. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 25. Comparison of knowledge and attitude among Saudi and Pakistani dentists was made using Chi-square test. P-value ≤0.05 was set at as significant difference.

Results: Out of 199, 54.7% (30.6% Saudi and 65.7% Pakistani) dentists had adequate knowledge about BTX and only 3.51% (4.8% Saudi and 2.9% Pakistani) dentists were practice BTX in clinics. 66.8% (67.7% Saudi and 66.4%) Pakistani were aware of side effects of BTX, while 68.3% (54.8% Saudi and 74.5% Pakistani) dentists were aware of toxicity of BTX.

Conclusion: There is a lack of knowledge among dentists working in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan regarding BTX. Pakistani dentists have better knowledge than Saudi dentists regarding BTX. The overall quality of knowledge is low in these dentists.

Keywords: Attitude, Botulinum toxin and Knowledge.