Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards Evidence-Based-Dentistry regarding dental practitioner: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Dental practice experienced two important evolutions: the development of the concept of evidence-based dentistry (EBD) and the changes in the relationship between dentists and patients. Thus, the practitioner is invited nowadays to give a treatment that reflects the best available evidence. The purpose of this study is to explore knowledge, attitudes, and practices of dentists toward the concept of EBD. METHODS: This is a cross sectional study that was conducted among dentists in public and private sector in Morocco. A self-administered questionnaire with 27 questions was delivered to practitioners. The comparison was carried out using the Khi2 test or Fisher's exact test, t-test or the Mann-Whitney. Logistic regression was performed to assess factors associated with the application of EBD. Linear regression was also performed to identify factors that impact knowledge, attitude and practice score. RESULTS: A total of 209 responses was received. 58% of the participants were in the private sector, and 32.7% were academics. The main reported obstacles were the lack of time 44% and lack of training on critical appraisal 60.3%. Knowledge of PICO question formulation and previous EBD training was significantly related to the implementation of EBD in multivariate analysis in logistic regression (OR = 8.163- CI95%: 2.095–31.80 and OR = 12.79- CI95%: 2.868–57 respectively). The total score of surveyed dentists was affected by the knowledge of PICO question formulation and the knowledge of relevant information sources (PubMed/Medline, the Cochrane library) (β = 3.04- CI95%: 0.411–5.66, β = 6.29- CI95%: 2.92–9.66 and β = 8.35- CI95%: 5.89–10.81 respectively). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, application of EBD was associated with knowledge of PICO question formulation and previous EBD training. The lack of time was the most common obstacles identified by the participants applying EBD. Therefore, EBD educational programs should be developed for dental practitioners to enhance their knowledge and skills.