A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF DENTAL LOCAL ANAESTHESIA AMONG UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL STUDENTS AND DENTAL INTERNS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Local anaesthetics are known to be the most commonly used drugs in dentistry and the backbone of pain control. Proper dental local anaesthetic knowledge and practice are vital aspects of student learning and are essential to provide the most optimal patient care. Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of dental local anaesthesia among undergraduate dental students and dental interns. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 422 subjects (36% males and 66% females). Questionnaires were distributed then collected at Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Statistical analysis: Data was transferred to SPSS version 20.0 for statistical analysis. The frequency test was mainly used along with correlation tests, which were Chi test, Spearman’s correlation, and Pearson’s correlation. Results: Knowledge of local anaesthesia was high except in familiarity with local anaesthesia reversal. The practice of topical and local anaesthesia was high in all specialties except periodontics. The use of one to two cartridges (73%) and injection time between 10 to 30 seconds (49%) were most prevalent. Local anaesthesia safety practice was high except in maximum dose calculation. Infiltration (80%) was the most common technique in the maxilla, and nerve block (63%) was the most common technique in the mandible. There were no difficulties with local anaesthesia administration in maxilla (56%) and a slight difficulty in mandible (38%); however, both were very effective (46%).  84% of the subjects faced local complications while 64% had systemic complications. Confidence in managing local and systemic complications was moderate at 37% and 31%, respectively. Conclusion: Dental students and interns demonstrated high knowledge of different dental local anaesthesia aspects. Dental local anaesthesia practice showed various patterns.

Key-words: Local Anaesthesia; Knowledge; Practice; Dental; Students; Saudi Arabia