Obstructive sleep apnea domains: Knowledge, attitude and practice results of dentists from a dental college in India

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding different domains of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) amongst dentists from a dental college in India. METHODS: 112 dentists participated in the study. A 23-item, self-designed, pre-tested and validated questionnaire assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding nine different domains was used to collect the data. Knowledge and practice was categorized domain wise as good/poor, while attitude as favorable/unfavorable. RESULTS: Dentists were observed to have good knowledge about OSA, for domains concerning to the definition (60.71%), general findings (76.19%) and risk factors of OSA (66.96%). For the domain of screening and diagnosis (38.83%) along with treatment and referral (36.01%) dentists presented poor knowledge. 100% favorable attitude was reported for all the domains, while the dentists poorly faired (<50%) for both the practice domains. CONCLUSION: In spite of dentists showcasing favorable attitude towards OSA, they possessed poor knowledge for domains concerning screening, diagnosis and treatment modalities of OSA which may be linked to the hurdle in their way of practice. Thus a special attention towards these domains needs to be given so as to improve the handling skills of dentist for OSA patients coming to their clinics and prevent further health related issues.