Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards the Use of Dental Plaque Disclosing Agent Among Dental Practitioners

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries and periodontal diseases,also referred to as plaque mediated diseases, result in poor oral hygiene. Plaque may be a highly specific variable formed by colonization of microorganisms . So plaque isn't easily visible through the eye which is difficult to get rid of , therefore a disclosing agent is employed for removing bacterial plaque and maintaining oral hygiene. Preparations containing disclosing dyes identify dental plaque help in maintaining good oral health. Therefore, the aim of this present study is to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice towards the use of dental plaque disclosing agents among dental practitioners and also to create awareness among the people about disclosing agents Materials And Methods: A descriptive cross sectional hospital based study in the Saveetha Dental College and Hospital (Saveetha University) located in the state of Tamil Nadu. The total sample size arrived was 105. The study population contains adult male and female Dental practitioners between the age of 22 -42. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board in Saveetha University. The first part of the questionnaire contains demographic details which includes age, gender and the second part of the questionnaire contains knowledge , practice toward the use of dental plaque disclosing agents among dental practitioners. Simple random sampling technique was followed. Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet after collection and was analysed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were expressed by means of number ,frequency , and percentage. The level of statistical significance is at p<0.05.Statistical software was Statistical software for Social Science ,SPSS version 23. Result: Majority (52.38%) of the Dental practitioners in the age group between 22-32 years used dental plaque disclosing agent in the dental practice and also felt that the use of this agent improves the oral hygiene maintenance by the patients (64.76%). They also found that patient satisfaction improved after educating them with a disclosing agent. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that participants in the age group of 22-32 years were found to exhibit more knowledge towards dental plaque disclosing solution and its use in dental practice.