Attitudes and knowledge of dental radiography amongst students of dentistry and related fields

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and attitude towards quality control in dental radiography amongst students of dentistry, allied dental sciences and radiologic technology programmes. Methods A cross‐sectional survey was conducted using self‐administered questionnaire on a convenience sample of 580 students from three universities in Jordan. The questionnaire was divided into sections that include personal sociodemographic variables, knowledge about quality assurance in dental radiography and attitude towards quality assurance in dental radiography. Results A total of 286 students completed the questionnaire (response rate = 49.3%), of whom 70% were women. The respondents’ knowledge scores ranged from 12.2% (n = 35) to 35.2% (n = 100). The mean of the quality assurance knowledge scores for the whole study sample was 20.3% ± 14.5%, with no significant difference between men and women (p = .643). Allied dental sciences students showed significantly higher knowledge scores (25.0 ± 13.0) than dentistry (17.8 ± 14.40) or radiologic technology students (20.9 ± 14.8). The average attitude scores towards quality assurance in dental radiography were fairly good (69.5 ± 26.4) with no statistically significant differences by study programme. Conclusion Knowledge of students about quality assurance in the three programmes is inadequate. The participants' attitude towards quality assurance was fairly good. The study provides feedback to dental schools to improve their curriculum by including quality assurance into student clinical practices. Further studies are requested to investigate the reasons behind this low level of knowledge.

Awareness and knowledge regarding dental radiology: A cross-sectional study

“…Study results revealed that most dentists were aware of radiation hazards and protection. 1,2 Our results are comparable to studies conducted previously like a study done in 2020 by Khamtuikrua C, et al, 3 and Mahasneh AM, et al, 4 in the year 2022. Dental radiography is considered safe during pregnancy if protective measures have been provided such as thyroid collar, Lead apron, and use of highspeed E films.…”

“…The literature review reveals that not only do dental students and dentists lack knowledge regarding radiation protection and proper techniques of radiograph taking but they are not aware of advising proper radiographs for different conditions. 4,5 Studies regarding radiation hazards are widely available but no study assessing basic radiographic knowledge and indications of different radiographs has been conducted so far nationally. So, the general knowledge about dental radiology is questionable and our study aimed to assess general awareness about the said subject as this field needs a lot of improvement to provide quality services in a clinical or hospital setup.…”