期刊名称：International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education
电子版ISSN：1308-5581
出版年度：2022
卷号：14
期号：2
页码：503-516
DOI：10.9756/INT-JECSE/V14I2.046
语种：English
出版社：International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education
摘要：BACKGROUND: The risk of dental caries is assessed by evaluating several factors such as caries experience, fluoride, extent of plaque present, diet, bacterial and salivary activity. There is no single standard for the measurement of risk of caries. Thus a wholesome knowledge about the various factors contributing to dental caries is important among dental graduates for better prevention and treatment of dental caries in the future. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of a group of dental interns in Chennai city towards caries risk assessment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online questionnaire comprising 11 questions was set and distributed among dental interns in a dental university hospital in Chennai, India. The response was tabulated in Microsoft Excel and then subjected to statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Version 28, 2021) for Mac. Results were represented graphically. RESULTS: The sample size was 100. Sample had a gender distribution of 58% males and 42% females. 62% participants were aware that caries has a multifactorial etiology while 38% were not aware of this fact. Almost 80% of the respondents knew that there are 4 key factors causing caries namely, host, substrate, microflora and time. Only a little above 25% of the participants were aware that the risk of dental caries in those who have other medical conditions is higher than other healthy individuals. Approximately 80% of the respondents knew that the type of diet influences caries and 70% knew that the frequency of diet and maintenance of oral hygiene post meal is an important factor for the analysis of caries risk. 95% of the participants were aware that checking plaque accumulation is important for caries risk assessment. All the participants (100%) were willing to learn more and spread awareness about caries risk assessment. CONCLUSION: Within the limits of the study it can be concluded that, dental interns had adequate knowledge about caries risk assessment although for a more precise judgment of dental caries dental students should focus on learning more about the factors influencing risk of caries.
