Familiarity and implementation of academicians of dental schools regarding the application of photodynamic therapy in dentistry: A need to incorporate in the dental curriculum.

BACKGROUND

The present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, behavior, and attitudes of academicians from dental schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia towards the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in dentistry.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire to a total of 289 academicians from the dental training faculty (DTF) was distributed to six dental schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during 3 months of the study period. The questionnaire consisted of four main sections with 17 items that dealt with: demographic data, awareness, and knowledge of dental academician regarding PDT technique, and the interest of the dental academician in implementation the PDT technique, detailed knowledge, and background about PDT use followed by the role and integration of PDT technique and its theoretical knowledge in the curriculum and clinical practice. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequency distribution. To estimate if general demographics of the participants affect DTF responses regarding PDT knowledge and teaching experience multivariate statistical analyses were carried out according to gender, age, professional experience, and academic rank regarding selected questions.

RESULTS

A total of 238 questionnaires (response rate: 82.3 %) were returned for the analysis. Females responded higher than males. More than 50 % of respondents were age 50 years and less. It is shown that 63 % of DTF indicates familiarization regarding PDT and 67 % and 70 % strongly agree to the fact that PDT should be incorporated in the dental curriculum and important to acquire knowledge regarding PDT for teaching undergraduate. A remarkable number of 87 % and 74 % showed high interest in participating in lectures and workshops related to PDT and therefore clinically applying the technique in clinical practice, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the level of knowledge and correct answers with age, professional experience of teaching and academic rank.

CONCLUSION

Although the DTF involved in the present study demonstrated average knowledge regarding PDT, they, however, consider significantly important and showed a keen interest in acquiring PDT knowledge and adding it in the dental curriculum.