Knowledge, Awareness and Attitudes on the use of Magnification Devices among General Dental Practitioners and Prosthodontists in Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia - A Questionnaire Based Study

The precise dental treatment outcomes can be achieved by perfect visualization and magnification devices play an important role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge, awareness, attitude, and use of magnification devices among Dental practitioners (General practitioners and Prosthodontists) in Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional, questionnaire based study was conducted in Ibn Sina National College for Medical studies, Jeddah; covering various dental clinics in Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. The study population was selected using cluster random sampling. This questionnaire was sent online to 300 private dental practitioners (General practitioners and Specialists (Prosthodontists), out of which 205 practitioners responded. The data were tabulated and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Chi-square test was used to analyze the data and a P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant, whereas p-value of less than 0.001 was considered strongly significant. Among the study population, 78.5% (n=161) were aware of utilization of magnification devices in prosthodontic procedures, 150 (73.2%) of them attended courses or classes on the magnification devices in the dental field, 140 (68.3%) were using surgical loupes during prosthodontic procedures, 130 (63.4%) felt surgical loupes enhances precision and accuracy, 132 (64.4%) felt surgical loupes reduces eye strain, 128 (62.4%) felt surgical loupes improve the speed of working and 137 (66.8%) felt surgical loupes improves ergonomics. The present study revealed that majority of the dental practitioners were aware of magnification devices used in dentistry and attended courses on the use of magnification devices in the field of dentistry and using surgical loupes for prosthetic procedures. Majority of the specialists (Prosthodontist) were using surgical loupes for fixed prosthesis and implant procedures. Most of them were using light mounted surgical loupes and were very comfortable using surgical loupes as it reduces eye strain enhances precision and accuracy and improves working speed and ergonomics.