Awareness and Practices of Minimal Invasive Dentistry amongst Dental Interns - A Descriptive Analysis.

ABSTRACT

The current approach to management of caries has evolved towards minimal invasive dentistry comprising of early diagnosis of incipient lesions, remineralization and conservative dental treatment with minimal intervention if required. Despite the focus of the dental curriculum on minimal invasive dentistry, not much of it is adopted into practice by the students. We wanted to assess the knowledge, attitude, and skills of minimal invasive dentistry amongst the dental interns of Dakshina Kannada district. MethodsThe data was gathered through an online questionnaire developed and validated by experts. ResultsA total of 244 dental interns responded to the online questionnaire survey. Majority was aware of the principles of minimal invasive dentistry mainly through lectures, although not many had practiced it. Fluoride treatment was the most recommended treatment for the prevention of caries. Although most of them agreed that caries risk assessment was effective, nearly half of them had never practiced it. A greater part of the respondents agreed upon the effectiveness of preventive measures and conservative modalities of treatment in the current day practice. ConclusionsDespite the awareness and knowledge of minimal invasive dentistry amongst the interns of Dakshina Kannada population, the practice of minimal invasive dentistry should be taught to the students and should be implemented in routine dental practice.