Awareness of basic life support among dental practitioners

BACKGROUND: It is important that every member of our community should be trained in effective BLS technique to save lives. At least doctors including dental practitioners, and medical and paramedical staff should be trained in high quality CPR, as it is a basic medical skill which can save many lives if implemented timely. AIM: Our aim was to study the awareness of Basic Life Support (BLS) among dental students and practitioners in New Delhi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted by assessing responses to 20 selected questions pertaining to BLS among dental students, resident doctors/tutors, faculty members and private practitioners in New Delhi. All participants were given a printed questionnaire where they had to mention their qualifications and clinical experience, apart from answering 20 questions. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data was collected and evaluated using commercially available statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 12). RESULTS: One hundred and four responders were included. Sadly, none of our responders had complete knowledge about BLS. The maximum mean score (9.19 ± 1.23) was obtained by dentists with clinical experience between 1-5 years. CONCLUSION: To ensure better and safer healthcare, it is essential for all dental practitioners to be well versed with BLS.