Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding handling of extracted human teeth among students of a dental college in Bhopal

Abstract

Introduction: Extracted human teeth have been used commonly in dental institutions to train students acquire the skills to perform on live patients. No disinfectant mentioned in the literature as 100% effective is completely safe. Although there are studies on the effectiveness of disinfectants, assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding the handling of extracted teeth among dental students are rare. Aims: The aim was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding handling of extracted teeth among the students of a dental college in Bhopal. Materials and Methods: A self-designed, close-ended questionnaire containing 16 questions was distributed to 500 students including the undergraduates and postgraduate students of a dental college in Bhopal. The questionnaire comprised 5 questions on knowledge, 5 on attitude and 6 on the practice towards handling of extracted human teeth. The responses were coded and entered in Microsoft excel and analyzed using SPSS 14. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the mean knowledge, attitude and practice scores across genders. Statistical significance of mean knowledge, attitude and practice scores across year of study was assessed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Of the 500 questionnaires distributed, 412 were returned with a response rate of 82.4%. The total mean knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 1.25 ± 1.12, 5.00 ± 1.12 and 4.89 ± 0.96 respectively. Comparison of mean knowledge, attitude and practice scores between genders was not significant. The difference in mean attitude and practice scores across year of study were statistically significant. Conclusions: Instructions regarding handling of extracted teeth need to be given to students when they enter the BDS curriculum. It's always safe to follow the guidelines issued by the Center for Disease Control while handling extracted teeth.