title: Awareness-Knowledge and Practices of Dental Waste Management among Private Practitioners.
abstract: Background Dental wastes are materials that have been utilized in dental clinics, which are no longer wanted for use and therefore discarded. Improper disposal of these dental wastes can cause harm to the dentist, the people in immediate vicinity of the dentist. Objective The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practices regarding Dental waste management among private practitioners. Method The study population included 186 private practitioners in three districts of Karnataka (Coorg, Mysore, Hassan), south India. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was distributed to assess the knowledge and practices regarding dental waste management. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the results. The data will be statistically analyzed using chi-square test, correlation. Result Out of 186 study subjects, 71(38%) were females and 115(62%) were males, Chisquare analysis showed highly significant association between qualification of the study participants and their knowledge, practice of dental waste management. A statistically significant (0.0001) correlation was found between the knowledge and practice scores. Conclusion There was a lacunae of knowledge regarding proper biomedical waste disposal among the participants. In order to fill this vacuum CDE (Continuing Dental Education) programs have to be conducted in pursuance to maintain health of the community.
authors.affiliation: Coorg Institute of Dental Sciences, Maggula, Virajpet-571218, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: K N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Abhishek
authors.affiliation: Coorg Institute of Dental Sciences, Maggula, Virajpet-571218, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Supreetha
authors.affiliation: Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Varma Penumatsa
authors.affiliation: Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sam
authors.affiliation: Maharashtra Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Latur, India.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Khanapure
authors.affiliation: Sri Sankara Dental College, Varkala, Kerala,India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sivarajan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D018057:Dental Waste; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011331:Private Practice
chemical_list: D018057:Dental Waste; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal