An evaluation of the knowledge and attitude of school teachers regarding root canal therapy in Kerman, Iran

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Dentist, Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center AND Kerman Social Determinants on Oral Health Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Kerman Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center AND Kerman Social Determinants on Oral Health Research Center AND Department of Endodontics, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of school teachers regarding root canal therapy (RCT) in Kerman, Iran. METHODS: 403 teachers participated in this study (49.9% were female and 46.9% were male). Data collection was performed by a researcher-made questionnaire. After checking the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, it was distributed among teachers. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: demographic information, knowledge, and attitude. To analyze data, descriptive statistic and inferential analysis were done by two-sample t-test and one-way analysis of variance. RESULTS: Mean scores of knowledge questions regarding RCT in men and women were 57.23% and 48.97% (P < 0.05), respectively. In addition, mean scores of the attitude of men and women were 70.53% and 71.07%, respectively (P > 0.05). In the knowledge part, it was shown that education level influences the knowledge of the participants being studied (P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the amount of knowledge and attitude (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge level of the school teachers was moderate and their attitude was good.

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