ABSTRACT

Background: There is a systematic delivery of fluoride to the teeth, which helps in prevention of dental caries. Aim: To determine the knowledge and practice of dental professionals towards fluoride in Eastern Province Military Hospitals, Saudi Arabia.

Study design: Descriptive study.

Methodology: A total number of 80 dental professionals responded to the questionnaire. The ethical approval was obtained from PSMCHS review ethical committee, after completing and submitting the research proposal. The plan for this study was to distribute the questionnaires by three members of the research team to the Military Hospitals Dental Clinics in the eastern province and Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences in Dhahran. Statistical analysis: Data was analyzed by SPSS version 23. Chi-square test was applied for categorical variables to find the differences in knowledge and practices by dental professionals with p-value ≤0.05 as significant.

Results: Among 80 enrolled subjects, more than 63.7% of dental professionals had adequate knowledge about fluoride regarding its benefits and adverse effects in dental field with significant p-value. Most of the dental professionals who responded to the questionnaire accurately identified the approximate concentration ppm of fluoride present in a dentifrice, about two third 53 (66.3%) correctly chose 1.000 ppmF.

Conclusion: It was concluded that there is significant difference in knowledge and practice towards fluoride between dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists and dental therapists. However, there is insignificant difference in the knowledge and practice of fluoride among female and male dental professionals.

Keywords: Dental Professionals, Flouride and Knowledge