Knowledge, Awareness, and Practices toward Management of Perforation among Dentist and Dental Students in KSA: A Cross-Sectional Study

Any mechanical or pathological connection between the root canal system and the external periodontium is called Perforation. Pathogenic perforations are caused by root resorption and deep carious lesions, and iatrogenic perforations are caused by access cavity and post space preparations and root canal instrumentations. Time, size, and location are significant factors that influence the prognosis for treatment a perforation. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, awareness, and practice level of perforation management among dentists, dental interns and dental students in Saudi Arabia. This is an observational cross-sectional study. It was conducted from February   2022 to November 2022 in Saudi Arabia. The study population consisted of senior undergraduate dental students of both genders in dental school, Intern and Dentists in Saudi Arabia. Data was then transfer to the Statistical Package of Social Science Software, to be statistically analyzed. The study included 439 participants, 55.1% of them were males and 44.9% were females. 33.7% were dental interns and 47.8% were GP. Knowledge score of root perforations among study participants, was 829% average knowledge, 5.7% were good, and 11.4% were poor. Regarding attitude score of root perforations among study participants, 88.8% had positive attitude while 11.2% had negative attitude. As for practice Score of root perforations among study participants, we have found that 5.2% were average 13.2% were poor and 81.5% were good. The study shows inadequate knowledge scores of root canal perforations among Saudi dentists. However, good attitude and practice were noted.