Knowledge, attitude and practice of pulp therapy in primary teeth among private dental clinicians in srinagar, india

Aim: The aim of this investigation was to conduct a survey among private dental practitioners in Srinagar city concerning their knowledge, attitude and practice of pulp therapy in primary teeth. Methodology: This is a questionnaire based study formulated to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of general dentists towards endodontic therapy in primary teeth. A total of 100 general dental practioners were selected from various private dental clinics in Srinagar city and were questioned using a 10 item questionnaire. After explaining the purpose of the study questionnaire was distributed among them and results were obtained. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS software version 11.0 and results were obtained. Results: In our study 35% prescribed medication only, as the first line of treatment. Reason given by the general dentists for performing endodontic treatment in primary teeth was Pain elimination (63%). When asked about the materials used for pulp fixation during a pulpotomy procedure, 48% of the respondents preffered Buckley’s formocresol and 60% of them do not use apex locator for working length determination. The most common material used for obturation of deciduous teeth was Zinc oxide eugenol 53% due to the availability of the same material (46%). 54% of the dentists used Hand held reamers as obturation technique of deciduous canals, 23% used Slow-speed lentulospirals and the final restoration preferred for endodontically treated primary tooth was GIC(35%). When asked about the barriers faced by the general dentists in treating children, majority 32% reported difficulty in managing children during treatment, 27% reported time consumption and financial loss as a major barrier in treating children. Majority (87%) of the general dentists wanted to have additional information regarding pulp therapy in deciduous teeth. Conclusion: Limited pediatric dental education and experience in treating children may contribute to negligence towards child’s teeth. Dentists need to update themselves regarding various treatment modalities in primary teeth.