title: Knowledge and Attitude among General Dental Practitioners towards Minimally Invasive Dentistry in Riyadh and AlKharj.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Minimally Invasive Dentistry (MID) emphasizes conservative caries management strategies resulting in less destruction of tooth structure, a deviation of the traditional GV Black's restorative principles. However, there seems to be either deficiency in knowledge or little intention by general dental practitioners to adopt these principles.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude among general dental practitioners towards minimally invasive dentistry in Riyadh and AlKharj cities of Saudi Arabia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-administered structured questionnaires were handed to general dental practitioners (GDPs) in the cities of Riyadh and AlKharj in Saudi Arabia. Several questions, including Likert-type scale response categories (1-5), were used. The questions assessed the respondents' levels of agreement regarding diagnostic, preventive and restorative techniques such as use of caries risk assessment, use of high fluoride tooth paste, Atraumatic Restorative Treatment and tunnel preparations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 200 respondents, 161 GDPs with overall response rate of 80.5% completed the questionnaires. The GDPs showed significantly different approach with regards to the use of sharp explorer for caries detection (p = 0.014). Almost 60% of the participants had received no special education regarding minimally invasive procedures. Moreover, GDPs who had received MID training showed significantly better knowledge and attitude in adopting minimally invasive techniques for both diagnosis and treatment of dental caries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although GDPs possess knowledge about the benefits of MID; however, study showed deficiencies in their attitudes towards caries detection methods and application of minimally invasive dentistry procedures.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Altaf Hussain
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Dental Supervisor of Public Health at Qunfudah region, Previous Demonstrator College of Dentistry, Dar Al Uloom University , Riyadh .
authors.forename: Faisal Mohammed
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Sheddi
authors.affiliation: Dentist, Armed Forces Medical Services , AlJubail, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Mesfer Saad
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Alharqan
authors.affiliation: Post graduate student, Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Darshan Dental College and Hospital , Loyara, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Shabnam Gulzar
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Khawja
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Fahim
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vohra
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Periodontology, Ziauddin College of Dentistry, Ziauddin University , Karachi, Pakistan .
authors.forename: Zohaib
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Akram
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Asmaa Ahmed
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Faden
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, King Saud University , Riyadh, Saudi Arabia .
authors.forename: Hesham Saleh
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Khalil
keywords: Caries detection; Caries risk assessment; Fluoride; Remineralization