Knowledge and Attitude Towards Radiation Hazards and Protection among Dental Students in Latur, Maharashtra, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: In our day-to-day clinical practice, X-radiation plays a vital role in oral diagnosis and treatment planning in dentistry. However, radiations are harmful and cause biological damage to the human body. Hence to have the benefits outweigh the risks, it is essential to inculcate awareness regarding radiation protection measures among the dental students. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge and attitude towards radiation hazards and protection among the dental students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 randomly selected undergraduate including final year and third year dental students and interns, who had completed their 30 days rotatory posting in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology in Maharashtra Institute of Dental Science and Research, Latur, Maharashtra, India from the month February to July 2021. A prevalidated close ended questionnaire consisting of 25 questions was distributed among the students and data were collected and analysed using the Chi-square test. The p-value was set significant at 0.05. Results: Out of 200 student participants, 91 (45.5%) were interns, 71 (35.5%) were final year students and 38 (19%) were third year students. The response of these participants was found to be non uniform and the knowledge and attitude towards radiation hazards and protection was highest in dental interns followed by final and third year students. Conclusion: It is the need of hour to create awareness among dental students about radiation protection and safety in day-to-day clinical practice and update their knowledge by conducting relevant workshops.