Bacterial contamination of dental unit waterlines: knowledge and attitude among dental practitioners

Context Knowledge and attitude of dentists about dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) is of considerable importance as they along with patients are regularly exposed to water and aerosols generated from the dental unit. Aims The aim was to assess the knowledge and attitude toward contamination of DUWLs among interns and postgraduate students at a dental teaching institute in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. Settings and design A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted during December 2018 at a dental teaching institute in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. Participants and methods A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect desired information from postgraduates and interns. Data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS (v21.0 IBM) software. Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Ethical Board before the start of the study. Results Results showed that postgraduates had higher statistically significant mean±SD knowledge score (8.53±2.04) compared with interns (7.56±2.29) (P=0.02). The mean±SD knowledge score of male (7.70±2.19) and female (8.27±2.23) was found to be statistically nonsignificant (P=0.16), and the difference in mean±SD attitude score based on their clinical experience (amid their period of internship and postgraduation) was found to be statistically significant (P=0.03). Conclusion The participants who responded to this survey generally did not have enough knowledge about disinfection or testing of DUWLs. However, they were concerned about the well-being of the patient and were ready to adopt an effective method of DUWL disinfection in the future. Conducting workshop or continuing dental education programs on disinfection of DUWL may improve the attitude toward disinfection of DUWLs.