Abstract

This study evaluated the attitudes and perceptions of private dental practitioners (PPs) and students on treating patients with disabilities and sensory impairments. A multifaceted questionnaire was used to assess the participants' attitudes on providing care to persons with disabilities and sensory impairments [visual (VI) and hearing (HI)]. The survey evaluated different aspects of the participants' attitudes that included integrity, altruism, perceived barriers, and theory of planned behavior (TPB). One hundred twenty participants [students: n=73, practitioners (PP): n=47), with a mean-age of 27.7±5.3 years, completed the survey (response rate: 100%). Fourth-year students scored better than the PP in integrity (p=.019). For altruism, the students scored better than PPs (vs. fourth-year: p=.009, vs. fifth-year: p=.031). There were no differences between the participant groups for the overall assessments of the TPB (p=.213), VI (p=.863), and HI (p=.261). Dental practitioners and students revealed a positive attitude, with few barriers, towards treating individuals with disabilities/sensory impairments and considered the training in the field of special care dentistry as a necessary part of the dental education. Furthermore, a demand for an increase in the hands-on practical experience in treating individuals with disabilities/sensory impairments during the undergraduate study curriculum was identified.

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