| JNDA Vol. 21 No. 1 Issue 32 (January - June 2021) | |
Knowledge of General Dentists in Provision of Endodontic Treatment to Pregnant Women in Chitwan |
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| Dr. Lipika Shrestha, Dr. Pujan Kranti Kayastha, Dr. Ashutosh Kumar Singh | |
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| Abstract | |
Introduction: Pregnant women have relatively higher rates of untreated dental caries and visit dental clinics with excruciating pain. They should be treated with special considerations. Endodontic treatment enables to control spread of odontogenic infection, maintain healthy oral environment, minimise possible complications in later pregnancy. Objective: To assess the perception of dentists about performing endodontic treatment to pregnant women. Materials and Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 70 general dental practitioners engaged in different government hospitals, private clinics and teaching hospitals in Chitwan was conducted using convenience sampling from May to December 2020 after ethical approval from College of Medical Science. A questionnaire consisting of 18 questions was used to collect data. Data were analysed for simple descriptive analysis using SPSS v.25: frequency and percentage distribution were calculated. Result: Importance to provide appropriate endodontic treatment during pregnancy was acknowledged by 69 (98.57%) of the general practitioners. These general practitioners also considered second trimester as the safest trimester to render endodontic treatment. Majority of the respondents considered local anaesthesia 55 (78.57%) and interappointment intracanal medicaments 60 (85.71%) to be safe during pregnancy while radiographs and intracanal irrigants were considered safe only by few participants. Conclusion: Findings of this study reveal that general dental practitioners realise the safety of endodontic treatment to pregnant women. However, they have insufficient knowledge with regards to the safety of irrigants and radiographic exposure for pregnant women. Therefore, continuing education courses can be advantageous to general dentists to bolster their knowledge for better endodontic treatment of pregnant women. |
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| Keywords | |
Endodontic treatment; general dental practitioners; intracanal irrigants; intracanal medicament; pregnancy; radiograph. |
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