Knowledge and attitude of dentists toward minimally invasive caries management in Almadinah Almunawwarah province, KSA.

Objective: Over time, the management of dental caries has shifted towards minimally invasive dentistry (MID) and more conservative and evidence-based strategies. Although most dental schools have begun to incorporate MID caries management strategies in their curriculum; it has yet to be established whether these strategies are being implemented in everyday practice. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of dentists working in Almadinah Almunawwarah province in KSA with regards to the implementation of MID in caries management.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which involved sending a self-administered and anonymous questionnaire to dentists practicing in both private and public clinics in Almadinah Almunawwarah, KSA. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: demographic data, dental education, clinical experience, and knowledge and attitude with regards to MID and the management of caries. For statistical analysis, we calculated simple descriptive statistics, including mean and frequency distributions; comparisons were performed using the Chi-squared test.

Results: A total of 130 dentists participated in the study; the majority of respondents were Saudi general dentists working in private dental clinics; there was a similar distribution of males and females and the age of the dentists ranged from 25 to 35 years. With regards to knowledge relating to selective caries removal (SCR), only 20% of subjects responded that SCR is based on lesion depth, while 74.6% reported that carious dentin consistency is important for SCR. Although 60% of respondents reported that they would assess a patient's risk of caries before commencing treatment, only 11.5% would perform risk assessment and non-surgical treatment in the first visit for caries management. Only 4.6% reported that they used the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) II criteria for the diagnosis of caries while 46.2% used the G.V. Black criteria. In addition, 53.8% of participants agreed that caries must be completely removed to prevent the progression of caries.

Conclusion: Dentists in Almadinah Almunawwarah province had reasonable levels of knowledge regarding the importance of MID in caries management. However, they did not fully implement certain concepts, such as caries risk assessment and the recently recommended criteria for the diagnosis of caries, in their everyday clinical practice.