Knowledge and Attitude Assessment of the Undergraduate Dental Students in KSA Regarding the Management of Post-Space Perforation

Restoring endodontically treated teeth is an essential step to preserve the remaining tooth structure and retain the core build-up. The prognosis of the perforated tooth will depend on the lesion location, size, and the time elapsed between the incident and the repair. Our study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate dental students in Saudi Arabia about post-space perforation management. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia. An online survey was distributed among dental students and interns in Saudi Arabia.  The collected data was exported to "Microsoft Office Excel Software". The statistical analysis was done through the (SPSS) Software. The study included 388 participants, 57.5% of them were females and 42.5% were males. 13.1% were GP and 28.6 were dental interns. 58% had a moderate knowledge score, 30.7% had good knowledge and 11.3% had poor knowledge. As for awareness, 76.8% of participants had good awareness, 19.1% had moderate awareness and 4.1% had poor awareness. Regarding practice, 21.6% have a good practice, 62.9% have moderate practice and 15.5% had poor awareness. There was a significant association between knowledge scores in the academic year. Meanwhile, awareness score was significantly associated with the type of university. Practice score was not associated with any of the sociodemographics. The study concluded that Saudi dentists had poor knowledge, moderate practice, and good awareness regarding the management of post-space perforation. University should undertake educational programs for dental students to enhance their knowledge and awareness of post-space perforation management.