Knowledge and interest in treating gingival recession among dental practitioners in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Gingival recession is an enigma among clinicians due to multiple etiological factors and various treatment modalities. AIM: Objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and interest among dental practitioners regarding the treatment of gingival recession. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey was conducted to assess knowledge of gingival recession and interest and satisfaction of dental practitioners in periodontics. This survey was circulated among 250 dental practitioners throughout four months. The structured questionnaire consisted of 9 questions assessing the knowledge and interest of dental practitioners in periodontics; gingival recession per se. RESULTS: Majority of the participants were general dentists. Among them, 46.23% had a habit of reading dental journals. Most of the participants had an opinion that improper tooth brushing (42.71%) is an important cause of the gingival recession. Only 34.17% had information about Miller's classification of gingival recession. Regarding general indication of root coverage procedures, 28.64% answered aesthetics was the most common indication. 39.7% mentioned that traumatic occlusion was a risk factor for gingival recession. A group of 29.65% mentioned that accidental toothbrush trauma leads to gingival recession. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of gingival recession among the study participants was adequate. More specifically, the interest of participants in periodontics was 5.39 and satisfaction in treating periodontal cases was 5.47.