Journal of Isfahan Dental School

Attitude and Knowledge of General Dentists in Isfahan City in Relation to Medical Emergencies during Dental Procedures

Document Type : مقاله‌های پژوهشی

Authors

1 Dentist, Tabriz, Iran.

2 Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.

3 Postgraduate student, Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Although medical emergencies are not common in dental offices, lack of appropriate attention to such incidents might result in irreparable complications in patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of general dentists in Isfahan in dealing with common medical emergencies.
Materials & Methods: A total of 120 general dentists (53 males and 67 females, with a mean age of 41.2 ± 13 years) working in Isfahan were randomly selected for the purpose of this questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The questionnaire included demographic variables, data on education history, and dentists’ attitude toward the need for more education and a test with 10 questions on how to deal with common medical emergencies. Data were analyzed with Pearson’s and Spearman’s tests, independent t-test, chi-squared test and Fischer’s exact test using SPSS 22 (α = 0.05).
Results: A total of 69 dentists (57.5%) acquired poor scores (0-5), 32 acquired a moderate score (6), 13 acquired a good score (7) and 6 acquired very good scores (≥ 8); 94% of the participants stated that they had not received adequate education in this field, and nearly 97% emphasized on the need for more education. There was no significant difference in the overall mean scores between male and female subjects (p value = 0.38). Knowledge level increased with years since graduation (p value = 0.028). Finally, <30% of the dentists stated that they had all the equipment and essential medicine to manage medical emergencies in their office.
Conclusions: Dentists in Isfahan exhibited low knowledge level about proper management of common medical emergencies and were not properly trained for such situations and their offices were not well equipped. This study showed that these dentists believe they need training in this field and past education has not met their needs.
Key words: Dentists, Emergencies, Knowledge.

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Journal of Isfahan Dental School
Volume 15, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
December 2019
Pages 406-415