Assessing knowledge and attitudes toward geriatric dentistry among dentists and senior dental students: A cross-sectional study in Yazd, Iran

الملخص

BACKGROUND: The increase in the elderly population with multiple chronic diseases and their unique needs has challenged the health system. Therefore, dentists need to have proper awareness and attitude toward the treatment of this group of society. Due to the lack of studies on geriatric dentistry in Iran, this study evaluated the knowledge and attitude of dentists and senior dental students regarding geriatric dentistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August to December 2023 in Yazd-Iran. Sixty-three students and 126 dentists participated. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that included demographic information, knowledge about geriatric dentistry, and related attitude questions. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 22 software, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and Spearman’s correlation. A significance level of less than 0.05 was considered. RESULTS: None of the dental students and only 9.5% of dentists had the desired level of knowledge, but most of the students and dentists had a positive attitude toward geriatric dentistry. The mean knowledge score of senior dental students (5.71 ± 0.67) was significantly lower than that of general dentists (6.91 ± 1.10) ( P value < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the mean attitude score of senior students (24.52 ± 1.89) and general dentists (24.30 ± 3.06) ( P value = 0.266). A positive significant correlation was found between knowledge and attitude scores in senior students ( P value < 0.001), but no significant relationship was observed in dentists ( P value = 0.388). CONCLUSION: There is a need to focus more on related issues in the general dental curriculum and hold more retraining courses in this field.

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