Knowledge, attitude and practice of infection control measures among dentists of Peshawar Pakistan: A Cross sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of infection control measures in dentists in Peshawar Pakistan

Methodology: This was a cross sectional study. The data was collected from three hospitals and private clinics of Peshawar from The sample size were calculated as 218. Dentists of any age or any race of both genders were included in the study if they were with at least qualification of bachelor of dental surgery, practicing in Peshawar and having at least one year of clinical experience.  The questionnaire used for data collection was adopted from a similar studies conducted in Karachi Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Data was analyzed through SPSS.

Results: Total 218 (148 male and 70 female) dentists were included in the study. The mean age of the participants of was 32.66 ± 7.88 years. 99.1% were sterilizing instruments by autoclave. 94% believed that ineffective sterilization results in cross infections. 98% believed that isolation is necessary to prevent cross infection. 72% dentists thought that wearing gloves didn’t replace the need of hand wash. 98% were taking medical history of their patients before treatment. 88.1% and 96.8% were washing their hands before and after dealing with patients.  96.8% were using gloves and 88.1% were wearing face mask during treating their patients. 95% were using sterilized instruments. 

Conclusion: Dentists in Peshawar have good knowledge regarding infection control. Majority of them showed positive attitude and were involved in good practice regarding infection control in their clinical setups.