Almalki Majed, Khayat Waad
Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Feb 18;16(2):e54427. doi: 10.7759/cureus.54427. eCollection 2024 Feb.
Objectives This study aimed to assess the awareness, implementation, and compliance with the infection control policy recommended by the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) for the use and reprocessing of endodontic files and to examine the association between compliance and gender, experience, clinical ranks, and workplace sector. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted using a validated self-administered electronic questionnaire created and distributed to dentists who perform endodontic treatment in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected between June and July 2023. Descriptive statistics were reported as counts and percentages. Comparisons among the demographic groups were done using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Results A total of 402 dentists completed the survey. The results showed that 76.1% (n=306) of respondents claimed that they were aware of the infection control policy recommended by the Saudi MOH for the use and reprocessing of endodontic files in dental clinics. Only 13.2% (n=53) of dentists used single-use endodontic files, and 36.6% (n=147) did not use an endodontic box in their dental clinics. The most commonly reported method of tracing the number of uses of endodontic files was to write the ID of the patient or the number of uses on the sterilization pouch as reported by 37.6% of participants (n=151). The average compliance score percentage was 63.5 ± 16.7. Most of the respondents showed moderate to high levels of compliance (51.7% (n=208) and 42.0% (n=169) of dentists, respectively). Dentists with less than 5 years of experience showed significantly less compliance than dentists with more than 10 years of experience (p = 0.005). Gender, clinical rank, and workplace sector were not significantly associated with the extent of adhering to the evaluated infection control policy. Conclusions Our findings indicate a relatively high level of compliance with the Saudi MOH policy of using and reprocessing endodontic files. However, critical measures such as the single-use of endodontic files, sterilizing new endodontic files, and using the sterilized endodontic box for each patient need improvement. Hence, this study recommends enhancing awareness through continuous education and training.
目的 本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯卫生部（MOH）推荐的牙髓锉使用和再处理感染控制政策的知晓度、实施情况及依从性，并探讨依从性与性别、经验、临床职级和工作场所部门之间的关联。方法 这是一项横断面研究，使用经验证的自填式电子问卷，该问卷由创建并分发给在沙特阿拉伯进行牙髓治疗的牙医。数据于2023年6月至7月收集。描述性统计以计数和百分比形式报告。人口统计学组之间的比较采用Kruskal-Wallis和Mann-Whitney检验。结果 共有402名牙医完成了调查。结果显示，76.1%（n = 306）的受访者声称他们知晓沙特阿拉伯卫生部推荐的牙科诊所牙髓锉使用和再处理感染控制政策。只有13.2%（n = 53）的牙医使用一次性牙髓锉，36.6%（n = 147）的牙医在其牙科诊所未使用牙髓锉盒。最常报告的追踪牙髓锉使用次数的方法是在消毒袋上写下患者ID或使用次数，37.6%的参与者（n = 151）报告了这一方法。平均依从性得分百分比为63.5 ± 16.7。大多数受访者表现出中等至高程度的依从性（分别为51.7%（n = 208）和42.0%（n = 169）的牙医）。经验少于5年的牙医的依从性显著低于经验超过10年的牙医（p = 0.005）。性别、临床职级和工作场所部门与遵守评估的感染控制政策的程度无显著关联。结论 我们的研究结果表明，对沙特阿拉伯卫生部牙髓锉使用和再处理政策的依从性相对较高。然而，诸如一次性使用牙髓锉、对新牙髓锉进行消毒以及为每位患者使用消毒牙髓锉盒等关键措施需要改进。因此，本研究建议通过持续教育和培训提高认识。
