Evaluation of knowledge and practice of general dentists and dental interns of Isfahan city about dental management of pregnant patient

The oral health of pregnant women affects the health of mother and child as much as the public health affects the health of people in a community. Dental treatment during this period should be performed in such a way that it has no side effects on the fetus. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and practice of general dentists and dental interns in Isfahan about dental measures in pregnancy period.

 In this study, a total of 232 general dentists and dental interns were investigated in Isfahan using a self-made questionnaire containing 26 questions (20 knowledge questions and 6 performance questions) about the measures necessary to employ during pregnancy. Then the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were calculated. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and performing T-test and ANOVA test. Significant level for all calculations was set at 0.05.

According to the study result, the total knowledge score was 13.2±3/5. The question about "prescribing the required drugs" had a significant correlation with university of study (P=0.047) and type of employment (P=0.047). The question "if the pregnant woman had pyogenic granuloma (pregnancy tumor), what will you do?" had a significant correlation with gender (P=0.042).

The overall score of the dentist's knowledges of the necessary measures during pregnancy was 13.2±3.5 which was fairly acceptable; however, it was recommended that further studies should be carried out in order to eliminate the possible risks posed by dentists to dental treatments of these patients.

 The average knowledge score of dentists with less than 5 years of experience was 14.18, and the average knowledge score of dentists with more than 5 years of experience was 13.42, which highlighted the need for offering refresher courses for dentists.