Knowledge And Practices Among Dentists Towards Radiation Protection

Abstract

Background: It is a known fact that ionizing radiation has various biological harmful effects. Dentists routinely depend on radiographs in their clinical practice for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of lesions. So, the dentists should be aware of different radiation protection techniques to minimize the radiation and it’s after effects. The study aims: To analyze the current status of knowledge and practices among dentists towards radiation protection. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire related to knowledge and practice regarding radiation protection of patients and dental staff from January to March 2022. The study sample included 325 dentists practicing in Makkah, KSA. The target population consisted of all dentists working in public, semi-public and private workplaces. Results: 96.6% of dentists were aware of radiation protection. However, nearly 35% were aware of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle and 73.9% thought that dental X-rays are harmful. 63.6%of subjects used digital image receptor. Only 16.7% of them used a film holder and more than 60% didn't follow the position and distance rule. The median knowledge score was 7 [5, 9], and there was a statistically significant difference ac- cording to dentist qualification (P ¼ 0.007), dental radiation protection continuous training (P < 0.0001), age (P ¼ 0.007) and years of experience (P ¼ 0.039). The median practice score was 5 [4, 6] and there was a statically significance association according to workplace setting (P ¼ 0.001). There was a significant positive relationship between knowledge[1] score and practice score (r ¼ 0.24, P<0.0001). Dentist qualification (OR 0.51, 95%CI: 0.27–0.94, P ¼ 0.03) and continuous training (OR 2.40, 95%CI: 1.47–3.93, P<0.0001) were significant predictors of knowledge, while workplace setting (OR 0.54, 95%CI: 0.32–0.93, P ¼ 0.027) and knowledge score (OR 1.24, 95%CI: 1.12–1.38, P<0.0001) were predictors of practices. Conclusion: Improving dentists' knowledge of radiation protection measures and tools as well as dose reduction techniques could increase their safe practices in dental radiology.