Awareness of dentists regarding immediate management of dental avulsion: Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice study.

Objective: To assess the knowledge of practising dentists regarding immediate management of dental avulsion.

Methods: The cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in various dental colleges and teaching hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan, in October-November 2016, and comprised dentists working in academic institutions / departments or as general dental practitioners for at least 1 year. The subjects were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire. Questions related to knowledge and practice regarding immediate management of dental avulsion was asked and then responses were categorised as good knowledge, moderate and poor knowledge. SPSS 22 was used for data analysis..

Results: Of the 282 subjects, 179 (63.5%) were females and 103(36.5%) were males. The overall mean age was 28. 33±4.7 years, and 194 (68.8%) had clinical experience of less than 5 years. Of the total, 30(11%) dentists had good knowledge while 130(46%) had moderate and 122(43%) had poor knowledge. Statistically significant association of knowledge regarding tooth avulsion was observed with the specialty (p= 0.006) and qualification (p=0.001).

Conclusions: The knowledge of dentists regarding immediate management of avulsion injuries was inadequate. Knowledge was significantly associated with specialty and qualification of the dentist.