Knowledge Of Dental Students Research Articles

Are Dental Students Aware of and Knowledgeable about COVID-19? A Questionnaire-based Investigation

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major global concern. Objective:This study aims to evaluate the knowledge of dental students toward COVID-19 in a context of a health emergency. Methods:A questionnaire-based survey was drawn up in an online form, to investigate knowledge and awareness level about COVID-19 among dental students at Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Italy. The questionnaire contained socio-demographic questions and 12 questions about definition, contagiousness, symptoms, incubation, source of infection, routes of transmission, treatment and infection control practices related to COVID-19. Results:72 dental students responded to the questionnaire-based survey. The participants had 87.6% of the essential knowledge about COVID-19 and 56.9% of the participants had also already heard about similar respiratory diseases. However, only 50% of the responders perceived a greater risk of contagion for dentists than other health professionals. Conclusion: Italian dental students had a good level of awareness of COVID-19. The most positive attitude of participants was toward the period of incubation, route of transmission and treatment. The COVID-19 outbreak reminded us the importance of knowledge on cross-infection control. It is essential to further sensitize future dentists to not underestimate the risk of exposure to the virus in dentistry.

Awareness and perception of dentistry students studying in Cyprus regarding COVID-19: A cross-sectional study

COVID-19 has been recognized at the end of 2019 and has been recognized in more than 215 countries with more than 24 million reported cases. Dental practitioners were regarded under high risk of getting COVID-19 due to their working environment and the mode of transmission of the virus. Present study aimed to evaluate the awareness and assessing the knowledge of dental students and dentists on COVID-19.
 The study population consisted of undergraduate students who are currently studying dentistry in Cyprus. Students were sent an onlinesurvey and data were collected on 16th of April. Survey was comprised of questions about the demography, education level of the participants, their infection control knowledge, conditions that require treatment during pandemic.
 A total of 594 students with equal gender distribution joined the survey. The age group of the participants were mostly between 18-25 age (94%) with 63% pre-clinical and 37% clinical students. The majority of participants were aware that dentists were at high risk group in terms of COVID-19 (98.5%). When clinical questions were asked, data indicatedstrong relationship between participants’ responses with their level of study. Upon asking COVID-19 specific questions, participants that have taken microbiology course were reported to have higher correct answer rate.
 Dental students studying in Cyprus demonstrated high awareness of COVID-19 and the higher risks of COVID-19 exposure that dental professionals face. Study demonstrated the importance of microbiology courses, as it significantly affected the answers to the questions on diagnosis methods and immune response to COVID-19.

Evaluation of Light-curing Intensity Output and Students’ Knowledge among Dental Schools in Riyadh City

AIM: The aim of this study is interpreting the dental student’s knowledge of light-curing units from different universities and colleges in Riyadh city and to evaluate the intensity of the light output of light-emitting diode (LED)-curing devices in dental school clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 METHODS: One hundred eighty-two visible light-curing (VLC) units were randomly selected to have their light intensity output evaluated using Demetron® L.E.D. Radiometer – Kerr among dental school clinics in Riyadh city. The university hospitals we visited are King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Dar Al Uloom University Hospital, Alfarabi colleges’ dental clinics, and Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University Hospital. To evaluate the knowledge of dental students about light intensity output, a questionnaire was given to the students.
 RESULTS: Out of the VLC units, 22 units (12%) measured inadequate intensity, 91 units (50%) measured marginal intensity, and 69 (37%) measured adequate intensity. The statistical significance was up to p < 0.05, p = 0. Most students and interns did not think that light-curing unit intensity influenced the tooth pulp (55.8%) and also reported not know the minimum wavelength of light cure intensity (62%).
 CONCLUSION: A significant difference was found between the light cure intensities in universities. As for the students’ knowledge, the research revealed poor insight toward basic concepts of VLC units and its maintenance.

Avaliação do controle das medidas de biossegurança adotadas por acadêmicos de Odontologia

Este artigo buscou verificar o conhecimento de acadêmicos de odontologia sobre as normas de biossegurança. Tratou-se de um estudo descritivo, através da utilização de questionário. A amostra foi comporta por acadêmicos concluintes do curso de odontologia (n=30). Os dados foram tabulados no programa SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). 100% da amostra faz a proteção ao paciente; 68% utiliza os óculos de proteção; 96% descarta materiais cortantes em reservatório adequado; 89% utiliza luva de borracha para lavar instrumentais; 96% utiliza álcool à 70% como desinfetante; 82% relatou “bom” conhecimento de biossegurança, e a existência de protocolos para profissionais acidentados; 83% evita “tocar objetos com as mãos enluvadas”; e 68% fazem a lavagem das mãos antes e depois de usar luvas; 94% realiza esterilização de brocas. A maioria dos acadêmicos conhecem os protocolos de biossegurança e executam os procedimentos clínicos de acordo com as normas estabelecidas pela legislação.

Dental Students' Knowledge and Attitudes About Electronic Cigarettes: A Cross-Sectional Study at One Saudi University.

There is limited information about what dental students know about the risks and effects of e-cigarettes, and there is even less information regarding their attitudes about e-cigarettes. The aim of this study was to assess dental students' knowledge, education, and attitudes regarding e-cigarettes and their confidence in discussing e-cigarettes with patients. All fourth- to sixth-year students registered at the King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study conducted during a three-week period in December 2018. The focus was a comparison of never versus ever e-smokers ("ever" meaning current or former e-smokers). The response rate was 38.7% (193/498). Among the responding students, 43.2% (n=83) had ever used an e-cigarette, and 11 (5.7%) reported being current users. Almost 95% (n=183) of the total participants said they did not feel confident about their e-cigarette education in dental school. Students who had ever used an e-cigarette said they were more confident discussing e-cigarettes with patients than did students who had never used them and also demonstrated greater belief that e-cigarettes lower the risk of cancer for patients who use them as an alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes (p<0.001). This study provides evidence of a gap in dental students' attitudes and knowledge regarding e-cigarettes, making it necessary to integrate e-cigarette education into future curricula.

Evaluation of Knowledge and Awareness among dental students about emerging outbreak of COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional study

Background: The ongoing outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emerged in Wuhan, China, and caused disruption among the health care populace and the rest of the world. As COVID-19 is highly contagious in nature, the front-line health care workers are at a higher risk and dental health care workers are of no exception to this and they are also at high risk than other health care professionals as we expend a lot of time close to the patient's oral cavity and the aerosols generated from dental treatments and the fluids that we came into contact like saliva, blood, etc., increases the risk multifold. Hence our aim was to assess the awareness, knowledge of dental students towards COVID-19.Materials and methods: A total of 350 dental students participated in the study. A structured custom-made questionnaire composed of 16 questions was designed to assess the students level of awareness, knowledge, towards COVID 19. The questionnaire was distributed among 3rd 4th year, interns undergraduate and postgraduate students, and informed consent was obtained before commencing the questionnaire. Results: A total of 350 students participated in a questionnaire study. The majority of the study participants were females (74%) and majority of the students were aware of CoVID-19 (99%) and only 1% were unaware. 79% of students were aware that COVID 19 is highly transmissible and about 76% has knowledge about the incubation period of COVID 19 which is usually between 1-14 days. Inadequate knowledge and awareness make students vulnerable to infections. Adequate training is required to protect students and their patients.Conclusion: Our study concluded that the majority of dental students had knowledge and awareness and its detrimental effects on COVID 19. Few students had a lack of awareness and inadequate knowledge about the mode of transmission, cross-contamination with dental instruments, incubation period and laboratory investigations.

Antibiotic Prescribing for Endodontic Infections and Prophylaxis for Medically Compromised Patients: A Survey on Dental Students in Turkey

Introduction: High and wrong antibiotic usage causes Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) which is a worldwide problem. Dental students, as future dentists are likely to provoke this public health issue by inappropriate prescribing choices. There is a need of further education of antibiotic prescription in endodontic infections, as well as prophylaxis. Aim: The aim of this study was to establish the knowledge of dental students on the suitable use of systemic antibiotics for endodontic infections and prophylaxis for medically compromised patients. Materials and Methods: A survey was done on dental students at the end of third, fourth and fifth years, who answered a questionnaire about antibiotic use for endodontic infections and prophylaxis for various immunocompromised patients. Pharmacology and endodontics lectures should be taken by respondents; was the inclusion criterion. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Statistical significance was fixed at p&lt;0.05. Results: Amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (500/125 mg) was the first-choice antibiotic of students. The percentage of fifth grade students who would prescribe amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (500 mg/125 mg) was lower than third and fourth grade students (p=0.006). In case of allergy to penicillin, clindamycin 300 mg was selected as a first-choice antibiotic by 78.3% of students. About 50.2% of the respondents indicated a treatment duration of 3-7 days, while 28.5% chose more than seven days usage. Fourth grade dental students who would prescribe antibiotics for more than seven days (40.7%) were found to be statistically more significant than third (27.8%) and fifth (16%) grade students (p=0.004). In case of acute apical abscess with systemic manifestations, 94.5%, which is the highest percentage of all, of students would prescribe antibiotic. Third grade dental students were the most antibiotic prescribing group for chronic apical periodontitis and periradicular (pocket) cyst (p=&lt;0.001). Patients with history or risk of bacterial endocarditis, were prescribed prophylactive antibiotics at a rate of 92.3% by students. Conclusion: Even though the results showed acceptable levels of competence, dental education should place greater focus on prescription of antibiotics to prevent Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice related to ergonomics among the students of three different dental schools in India: An original research.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:Dental students and practitioners are frequently prone to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to the unawareness of ergonomic principles when practicing dentistry. The aim of this study was to assess the dental student knowledge, attitude, and practice toward ergonomics in three different dental schools.METHODOLOGY:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1166 dental students from three different dental schools of Andhra Pradesh, India, to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding ergonomics. All the participants were provided with prestructured questionnaire form comprising 13 questions to know their knowledge, attitude, and practice related to ergonomics before and after providing guidelines on ergonomic principles.RESULTS:The majority of the dental students appreciate that the most affected regions due to work-related disorders were back (475 before and 559 after instructions), neck (354 and 420), hand and wrist (205 and 117), and shoulder and elbow (132 and 70), respectively. Knowledge and practice scores of dental students (mean and standard deviation) regarding WMSDs before and after applying ergonomic principles were 3.92 ± 2.44, 1.29 ± 1.67 and 5.81 ± 0.87, 3.03 ± 0.60, respectively.CONCLUSION:The present study provides an insight into ergonomics for dental students during routine dental procedures. The knowledge, attitude, and practice related to ergonomics were satisfactorily increased among the participants. Thus, ergonomic education of the dental health-care personnel must be focused in all the educational institutions and at continuing dental health programs by delivering ergonomic principles both theoretically and practically and should be a part of the curriculum.

Dental Students knowledge in diagnosing orthodontic problems in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Dental Students knowledge in diagnosing orthodontic problems in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia - IDJSR- Print ISSN No: - 2394-708X Online ISSN No:- 2278-3784 Article DOI No:- 10.18231/j.idjsr.2019.013, International Dental Journal of Student's Research-Int Dent J Stud Res

Medical, Dental, and Nursing Students' Knowledge about Early Childhood Oral Health Care.

Gaps in knowledge of physicians and nurses about early childhood oral health care were reported and are likely due to the poorly focused education on oral health issues; therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of Qassim University medical, dental and nursing students about early childhood oral health care and its relation to demographic variables, students’ perceived knowledge, satisfaction with their knowledge and interest in further education about the topic. A total of 571 medical, dental, and nursing students received a questionnaire that included demographic questions, questions to assess knowledge level of the students about early childhood oral health care, and questions to assess their perceived knowledge level, satisfaction with their knowledge and interest in further education about the topic. Results of the study revealed that knowledge of dental students was highest (score 7.72 out of 10) followed by nursing students (4.79), and medical students (4.43). Additionally, students with a higher level of perceived knowledge were more likely to score higher. In view of the inadequate knowledge level of medical and nursing students about early childhood oral health care when compared to dental students, improvements in medical and nursing education programs are necessary at Qassim University.

Comparação de estratégias para aprimoramento de graduandos de Odontologia na prescrição medicamentosa

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar diferentes estratégias para o aprimoramento de graduandos de Odontologia sobre normas de prescrição medicamentosa. Foram avaliados 72 estudantes, os quais foram divididos aleatoriamente em 3 grupos (n=24): Grupo 1 – em cada etapa de avaliação foi apresentado um vídeo explicativo sobre normas de prescrição com duração de 15 minutos; Grupo 2 – o mesmo vídeo foi disponibilizado em uma plataforma virtual (com acesso ilimitado); Grupo 3 – controle: os estudantes não tiveram atividades adicionais sobre o tema. Foram realizadas 4 avaliações e os voluntários receberam um caso clínico diferente em cada avaliação, realizando uma prescrição para a situação clínica proposta. Para cada prescrição realizada foi atribuída uma pontuação considerando diferentes itens: identificação do profissional e do paciente, concentração, dose e quantidade do medicamento, instruções, dentre outros. Os resultados obtidos foram submetidos à análise estatística, com nível de significância de 5%. Não foram observadas diferenças significativas na avaliação basal entre os grupos (p&gt;0,05). Após o uso das diferentes estratégias foram observados melhores resultados para G1 quando comparados a G2 e G3 (p&lt;0,05). Concluiu-se que o uso do vídeo presencial foi o que proporcionou melhores resultados em relação às normas de prescrição de medicamentos.

NEEDLE STICK INJURIES AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS IN ISHIK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF DENTISTRY AND HAWLER MEDICAL COLLEGE

Background and objectives: Needle stick injuries pose a high risk to health care workers including dental students. They represent a major risk factor for transmitting blood borne pathogens including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus. Needles of syringes are the most commonly identified sharp object causing the injuries. Therefore, this study conducted to determine the prevalence of needle stick injuries among dental students in Ishik university facualty of dentistry and Hawler medical college. Aim and objectives of the study: The study aimed were to: 1. Find out the prevalence of NSI among dental student in Erbil city-Iraq. 2. The percentage of dental students that had taken Hep B vaccine. 3. Study the knowledge of dental students regarding NSI.Subjects and method: The study was a cross sectional in nature, 114 students from Ishik University and Hawler Medical University Collage of Dentistry and data collections were done from the 1st of Dec till 2 of Feb 2018. Later on, data analysis and writing the thesis completed in May up to June, 2018. A questionnaire was completed through direct interview of the study students to measure their knowledge and practice about needle sticks injuries. All the obtained information including prevalence of needle sticks injuries, within previous 12 months, time of injury, and training on needle stick injury, knowledge, practice and attitude about needle sticks was then analyzed using statistical package for the social science software version 21.Results: The mean age of the participants was 22. The results of the study demonstrated that the prevalence of needle stick injury during past 12 months among dental students was 47,4%. Needle stick injury happened after using the needle in 35.2%, while in re-capping the needle occur in 27,8% and around 41.2% of the samples have precautions regarding NSI.Conclusion: The dental student had taken hepatitis B vaccine in a high percentage, while the prevalence of NSI was high and male showed higher prevalence than female. Training course regarding the precaution and management of NSI may need to be added to the curriculum of dental students.

Knowledge of dental students and professionals about the management of traumatic dental injuries

Knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) is extremely important in improving the prognosis of such cases. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge of dental students and professionals about the management of TDIs, and the factors that influence this knowledge, through a literature review. Methods: An electronic search was performed in the PubMed database, with no language or date restrictions. Studies that evaluated the knowledge of dental students or professionals about the management of TDIs were considered eligible. Results: From a total of 1902 retrieved papers, 36 full-texts were assessed for eligibility, and 31 were included in this review. All studies evaluated TDI knowledge through questionnaires; 15 of them only concerned tooth avulsion. In general, knowledge about TDI treatment, both in deciduous and permanent dentition, was considered to be low or moderate. Individual factors (age and gender), professional factors (postgraduate degree, qualification time and place of work), and previous TDI knowledge (attendance frequency, previous education and self-judgment about the knowledge) influenced the knowledge and the frequency of correct answers. Conclusion: Dentistry student and professional knowledge about TDIs is not satisfactory.

Effectiveness of educational intervention of oral health for special needs on knowledge of dental students in Saudi Arabia

BackgroundIt is critical to educate dental students on the essential aspects of oral care for persons with special health care needs (shcn) as they acquire more dental diseases and 80% not receiving routine dental care. Objective/hypothesisTo evaluate awareness and knowledge of dental students concerning oral-health care for persons with shcn, and to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention in improving their knowledge. MethodsStudents completed an evaluation in the form of pre-post questionnaires that were answered before and immediately after the 30- minute dvd educational intervention regarding the oral health care of persons with shcn. ancova test where used to adjust for the pre knowledge and dependent t-tests were used. ResultsThe mean ± sd of pre-test scores of all students was 15.46 ± 2.97, which increased to 18.09 ± 3.37 on the post-test. the post knowledge scores by dental class (adjusted for the pre knowledge) showed weak-significate anacova f test p value was (p < 0.050) however there was weak significant difference between the combined five years when compared (p < 0.050). however multiple comparison test (scheffe test) showed weak significance between d2 and d3 (p < 0.067). in addition, there was weak significant difference between post scores for each year when compared (p < 0.05). ConclusionsThe educational intervention was effective in providing all five levels of dental students with the basic instructive information needed to care for persons with shcn. about 62% of students from all five years rated their knowledge as being minimal and about 98% reported they would use the information provided in the educational intervention.

Knowledge of Dental Students in Relation to Local Anesthetics and Associated Complications

Local anesthesia is the most frequently performed procedure for all dentists and, despite their possible complications, often aspects such as dosage, contraindications and systemic effects are neglected. The objectives of this study are to evaluate prospectively the knowledge of undergraduate students for the technical, dosage and indication of local anesthetics in daily dental practice, in addition to clinical observation of possible complications from anesthesia. Questionnaires were distributed to students asking about the procedure undertaken, anesthetic volume used, because of the choice of the anesthetic, anesthetic dosage calculation, habit of relating the patient's weight dosage with the dosage being applied, habit of observing the reflux in cartridge in the anesthetic infiltration act and adverse effects on patients, type of anesthetic technique performed and expected time to onset of action of the drug. At the end of this study, we intend to be a greater awareness of students (undergraduates) about the systemic effects of local anesthetics in patients, and possibly decrease the expenses of the institution with excessive use of anesthetic cartridges arising from incorrect anesthetic technique. The vast majority of undergraduate students have no knowledge about the type of anesthesia to be used, the amount to be administered and the anesthetic action time. The awareness of students about the dosage of anesthetics and their systemic problems, reduces waste and the cost of the institution by the indiscriminate use of anesthetics, therebycontributing to improve the clinical management of students at graduation.

Dental Student Knowledge and Willingness to Donate Corneas.

Our aim was to assess the knowledge and willingness to donate corneas among undergraduate dental students in Hyderabad city, India. We conducted a cross-sectional study among undergraduate dental students of Panineeya Institute of Dental Sciences (Hyderabad, India). A pretested questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographic details, knowledge of cornea donation (7 questions), and willingness to donate corneas (3 questions). For analyses, we used chi-square and multivariate modeling tests. P < .05 was considered significant. Our study included 56 male (16.5%) and 284 female (83.5%) dental students. The overall mean number of correct answers for knowledge questions for this study population was 2.98 ± 1.43. A significant difference existed only for year of study (P < .001). Similar findings were noted when the study population was categorized into poor and good knowledge. The willingness to donate, which was referred to as a positive attitude, was expressed by 41%, with significance observed only for religion. The most common reason cited for unwillingness to donate was lack of sufficient information (52%). Regarding associations between ambiguity to donate and demographic factors, only religion was shown to be a significant factor. Although approximately 66% of respondents had poor knowledge, 40% were willing to donate. When demographics were considered, year of study was significantly associated with knowledge and religion was significantly associated with willingness to donate.

Maus-tratos infantis na perspectiva de acadêmicos de Odontologia

A violência infantil não ocorre apenas em países em desenvolvimento e é tão frequente que por vezes é banalizada. Crianças e adolescentes são alvos fáceis para atos de violência por serem frágeis e dependentes. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar, por meio de questionários, o conhecimento de estudantes de Odontologia em relação aos maus-tratos na infância e adolescência. Todos os acadêmicos matriculados nos cursos de Odontologia das Universidades do Planalto Catarinense e Federal do Espírito Santo foram convidados a participar do estudo. O questionário abordou conceito e características de maus-tratos, conduta frente aos mesmos, conhecimento do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA) e responsabilidade do cirurgião-dentista na notificação de maus-tratos. Os dados foram analisados por meio de estatísticas descritivas. Participaram da pesquisa 363 alunos, 146 de Lages e 217 de Vitória. Destes, 265 (73,0%) eram do gênero feminino, com idade média de 21,38 ± 3,01 anos. Durante a graduação, 34,9% dos alunos afirmaram não ter recebido nenhuma informação sobre maus-tratos na infância e adolescência. Apesar disto, a maioria (86,8%) sente-se capaz de diagnosticar casos de maus-tratos. Os estudantes citaram alterações nos tecidos moles (65,3%) e traumatismos dentários (48,5%), como caracetrísticas relacionadas aos maus-tratos. Em relação à denúncia, apenas 30,3% referem o Conselho Tutelar como esfera competente e 35,5% sabem o significado da sigla ECA. Foi observado que os acadêmicos das duas instituições conseguem identificar os sinais de maus-tratos, mas precisam de maiores informações em relação à notificação dos mesmos.

Knowledge of Brazilian Dental Students about the Use of Conventional Fluoride Dentifrices for Preschool Children from Zero to Six Years Old

Objective: To verify the knowledge of dental students about the correct use of fluoride dentifrices above 1000 pmm fluorine for children aged 0-6 years old. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which self-administered questionnaires were administered to 355 dental students from sixth to ninth or tenth graduation period. The questionnaires included questions regarding knowledge of the need to use, concentration, amount, frequency and potential adverse effects of the use of conventional fluoride dentifrices above 1000 ppm of fluorine by children up to six years of age, as well as the mechanism of action and the method of using fluorides that has the most scientific evidence. A descriptive analysis of data was performed. Results: 83.1% of students reported receiving content on the use of fluoride dentifrices in early childhood. Most students consider the use of fluoride dentifrice as important for the age group from zero to three years (73.8%) and from three to six years (96.4%). Only 17.7% would indicate fluoride toothpaste above 1000 ppm fluoride for children from zero to three years and 40.6% for three to six years. 76.9% believe that the amount of ideal refers to a grain of rice (0-3 years) and 61.7% of pea grain (3-6 years). 43.4% of students believe that fluoride dentifrices as an adverse effect the potential to cause fluorosis independent of concentration. Conclusion: The students evaluated were misleading about the fluoride concentration of the dentifrices indicated for children up to six years of age; on the toxicity of fluorine; action mechanism of fluorides and the scientific method of greater scientific evidence on caries disease. Failures in training and need to update fluoride contents to be taught to future dentistry professionals are evident.

Awareness Level of Radiation Protection among Dental Students

Dental radiographs have always been the mainstay of the diagnosis of oral diseases. Even if the radiation hazard posed by the dental radiographs is low but still accumulation of such low level radiation in human body over a time period can pose a threat to the overall health of the individual. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of dental students about radiation protection and hazards. The present cross sectional study was conducted by enrolling one hundred 4th year dental students from the two teaching hospitals in Chitwan district of Nepal. A questionnaire consisting of a total of 20 questions was distributed and each question was allocated 0.5 marks for correct response whereas no deduction for wrong answer. The results of the present study depicted that 85 (85%) of the total students enrolled in the study had "good" knowledge about the radiation physics, protection and hazards whereas only 15 (15%) of them had "poor" knowledge. The study concluded that teachers should involve in imparting more and more knowledge as well as training about the topic and dental curriculum should be altered so as to train the budding dentists about all aspects of radiation.

TOOTH AVULSION MANAGEMENT: STATE OF DENTAL STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the knowledge of undergraduate dental students regarding the management of avulsed teeth at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Methods: A self-administered English-language questionnaire contained of 17 close ended questions with two parts: The first part consisted of questions about demographic and professional data. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of questions to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the students on managing avulsed traumatic injuries. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Data were collected from 303 students with response rate of 83.4%. About 80% of the students had a previous knowledge about dental trauma. Most of the students 92.7% were able to define avulsion, correct answers were significantly more with advanced academic level (P = 0.003). Majority of the students (80.5%) can distinguish between primary and permanent teeth. About half of the study group (46.2%) correctly answered the ideal time for re-implantation, more female students were responded correctly with p = 0.000 if compared to male students. Most of the students (83.8%) selected milk as a storage medium, almost 15% selected saliva, 14.5% selected Hank’s balanced salt solution (HBSS) and 8.3% selected saline. Only 19.8% answered the flexible splint used for splinting avulsed teeth with significant difference in different academic level and gender p < 0.05.Conclusion: The present study reflects insufficient knowledge of dental students in management of avulsed teeth. In some points the students’ knowledge needs to be improved through enhancing and providing different kinds of education methods in undergraduate courses.