Awareness of biomedical waste management among dentists associated with institutions and private practitioners of North India: A comparative study

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to obtain information about knowledge, execution, and attitude toward biomedical waste (BMW) and its management. Materials and methods: In the present study, a self-administered closed-ended questionnaire was designed to conduct a crosssectional survey. It was distributed among 614 dentists (institution associated or private practitioners) in the cities of North India. The questionnaire comprised 36 questions regarding knowledge, execution, and attitude toward BMW and its management. Frequency distribution and chi-square test along with paired t-test were used to compare the data obtained between the private practitioners and institution-associated dentists. Results: The study showed that 80% private practitioners were aware of the categories of BMW as compared with 100% of institution-associated dentists. However, 41% dentists associated with institution were disposing the chemical waste directly into sewer and a surprising high number of private practitioners were discarding directly without any treatment. Furthermore, regarding the mandatory maintenance of BMW records, 100% institution-associated respondents were aware, whereas only 6.5% private practitioners knew about it. Regarding BMW management not frequently being followed, 78% of private practitioners believed extra burden as the reason. Conclusion: Most of the dentists had adequate knowledge regarding BMW policies and its management. Although it was being practiced in mostly all the institutes on a regular basis, the majority of private practitioners were not practicing it due to various reasons, such as financial burden, lack of availability of service, and poor attitude toward its management. Clinical significance: There is a need to make it compulsory and organize training sessions to educate the dental personnel and to establish the importance of proper management.