Awareness Regarding Minimally Invasive Dentistry among Dentists of Karachi

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess awareness of dental practitioners of Karachi regarding minimally invasive dentistry. Study design and Setting: It was a cross sectional study based on questionnaire, conducted in 6 different dental hospitals of Karachi. The sample included dentists who were actively practicing clinical dentistry in Karachi. Specialists were excluded from the study Methodology: A study questionnaire was distributed to the participants which comprised of demographic details, professional data and Likert-Scale based questions to asses respondent’s agreement level related to caries activity, assessment, detection and treatment. Results: Out of the 151 questionnaires distributed, 119 were analysed with an overall response rate of 78.8%. From the total 67.2% dentists were received training in MID through some means in which 36% received training in MID by lectures and clinical training both while 32.8% had no training in MID. MID techniques like ART and sandwich technique was found to be effective by 65% and 50.4% respectively. The 58.8% participants were agreed that caries risk assessment (CRA) should be done in every patient and 55.5% dentists were agreed that restoration should be planned according to patient’s assessment Conclusion: General Dental Practioners were not completely aware of the concepts and application of minimally invasive procedures and had little knowledge regarding caries detection methods and lacked in implementation of MID techniques in their daily practice