Sallam Nadhem Mohammed, Alshalfy Somaia Mohammed, Alhajj Mohammed Nasser
Department of Orthodontics, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen.
Faculty of Dentistry, Civilization University, Sana'a, Yemen.
BMC Oral Health. 2025 Jul 21;25(1):1226. doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-06644-5.
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) has been widely used for treating dental caries and has recently been adopted as one of the minimal intervention treatments for dental caries. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of dentists in Sana'a City, Yemen, regarding SDF.
A paper-based cross-sectional study. The required sample size was 385. The questionnaire was submitted to 400 participants to address the issue of incomplete responses. The final number of respondents comprised 327 general dentists (85.9%), 5 pediatric dentists (1.5%), and 8 dentists from other specialties (2.5%) in Sana'a City, Yemen. A simple questionnaire comprising 30 questions was distributed to assess dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding the use of SDF. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics v25.0.
The mean knowledge score of participants was 9.78 (SD = 2.19), with the highest knowledge score for the question (SDF is used to prevent progression of dental caries) (0.96, SD = 0.20). The mean attitude score was also acceptable, with the highest score for attitude being for the use of SDF as a good treatment for caries in children with behavioral difficulties and dental anxiety (1.17, SD = 0.89). The use of SDF to treat lesions in posterior primary teeth received the highest perception score. Participants aged 28 years or younger had a mean Knowledge score that was not significantly different from those older than 28 years (p = 0.072). However, the younger participants had a higher attitude score, with a significant difference (p = 0.043). Females had a significantly higher knowledge score than males (p = 0.020).
Within the limitations of this study, the results showed a good level of KAP among dentists regarding the use of SDF. Poor aesthetics was the main reason respondents gave for not using SDF. Integration of SDF education in Yemen is highly recommended.
氟化亚锡（SDF）已被广泛用于治疗龋齿，最近已被用作龋齿的微创干预治疗方法之一。本研究旨在评估也门萨那市牙医对SDF的知识、态度和认知（KAP）。
一项基于纸质问卷的横断面研究。所需样本量为385。向400名参与者发放问卷以解决回答不完整的问题。最终的受访者包括也门萨那市的327名普通牙医（85.9%）、5名儿童牙医（1.5%）和8名其他专业的牙医（2.5%）。发放一份包含30个问题的简单问卷，以评估牙医对SDF使用的知识、态度和认知。使用IBM SPSS Statistics v25.0对数据进行分析。
参与者的平均知识得分是9.78（标准差=2.19），问题（SDF用于预防龋齿进展）的知识得分最高（0.96，标准差=0.20）。平均态度得分也可以接受，态度得分最高的是将SDF用作对行为困难和牙科焦虑儿童龋齿的良好治疗方法（1.17，标准差=0.89）。使用SDF治疗后牙乳牙病变的认知得分最高。28岁及以下参与者的平均知识得分与28岁以上参与者的平均知识得分无显著差异（p=0.072）。然而，年轻参与者的态度得分更高，差异有统计学意义（p=0.043）。女性的知识得分显著高于男性（p=0.020）。
在本研究的局限性范围内，结果显示牙医对SDF使用的KAP水平良好。美学效果差是受访者不使用SDF的主要原因。强烈建议在也门开展SDF教育。
