KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE REGARDING CARIES RISK ASSESSMENT

Background and aim. It is widely accepted that caries risk assessment (CRA) is the basis for management of dental caries. CRA can contribute to identifying people at high dental caries risk. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of general dentists in the city of Kerman about CRA. Materials and methods. The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 160 general dentists in the city of Kerman, Iran. Collection tools included demographic data and 10 questions on theoretical knowledge, 10 questions on practical knowledge and 7 questions on the attitude about the researcher-made CRA, whose validity and reliability have been previously measured. Data was analyzed using SPSS software with ANOVA lest, at a significance level of 0.05. Results and discussion. In this study, 55.6% were males with a mean age of 38.98 +/- 8.11 years. The mean knowledge, practice and attitude scores were 6.79 +/- 1.46, 15.31 +/- 3.45 and 11.25 +/- 1.64, respectively. Female dentists had a significantly better practice. There was a statistically significant association between the positive response to the application of new methods of caries control with practice and altitude. Conclusions. The level of theoretical and practical knowledge of individuals was inadequate, but their attitude was appropriate. Practice on the introduction and application of anti-caries agents, such as fluoride varnish and ACP-CPP, was inadequate, and knowledge on white spot as a caries lesion was poor. Training courses are therefore recommended for the identification of initial caries lesions and their management via anti-caries agents.