KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF PERIODONTAL PLASTIC SURGERIES AMONG DENTAL PRACTITIONERS. A SURVEY

Introduction: The aim of the study is to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of periodontal plastic surgeries among dental practitioners. Materials and methods: A 10-item questionnaire was formulated and circulated among 100 dental practitioners with more than 10 years of practice, belonging to various dental specialities other than periodontics. The responses were subjected to statistical analysis. Frequency distribution and percentage were calculated. Results and discussion: 76% of the dental practitioners were aware about root coverage procedures. Though this awareness seems higher, only 21% of them have performed it, and also only 10% of the dental practitioners were aware about the grafting materials available on the market for root coverage procedures. 89% of them were aware that lasers are used in periodontal plastic surgeries, while 41% were aware about the different types of procedures of periodontal plastic surgeries. Conclusions: Even though there was adequate knowledge and awareness about the procedures performed under periodontal plastic surgeries, knowledge about each procedure in part and about the materials used was inadequate among dental practitioners.