Background and Aims: The development and regular use of adhesive systems has started to revolutionize many aspects of restorative and preventive dentistry. The success of adhesive restorations highly depends on correct application of them. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of determining the knowledge of dentists in Rafsanjan city (Iran) in choosing correct dental adhesive systems in 2023.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, all dentists working in Rafsanjan city were included. The data was collected by a valid and reliable electronic questionnaire, which included two parts of demographic information (gender, age, place of work and year of graduation) and the 12 multiple-choice questions aimed to assess respondents' knowledge regarding the selection of dental adhesive materials in combination with self-cure or dual-cure composites, anterior and posterior composite restorations, fiber posts, fissure sealants, primary teeth, anterior composite veneers, ceramic laminates, and non-carious cervical lesions. The scoring of this questionnaire was as follows: 0 to 3 correct answers = Low level of knowledge; 4 to 6 correct answers = Moderate level of knowledge; 7 to 9 correct answers = Good level of knowledge; 10 to 12 correct answers = Very good level of knowledge. The four answer choices included "etch-and-rinse (three-step)", "etch-and-rinse (two-step)", "self-etch (two-step)", and "self-etch (all-in-one bottle)". Then data were analyzed by parametric tests (ANOVA, t-test, and Pearson). The significant level was considered as P<0.05.
Results: Out of 91 dentists in Rafsanjan, 79 (86.8%) participated in the study, of which 35 (46.3%) were men. The average work experience was 3.49±3.96 years for men and 2.98±3.73 years for women. The average knowledge score was 4.38±2.16 out of 12 (4.29±2.23 in men and 4.45±2.12 in women). The results showed that there was no significant relationship between the knowledge score and the gender, age, work experience, and workplace (P>0.05).
Conclusion: According to the results which indicated the insufficient knowledge of dentists in choosing correct dental adhesive systems, it is suggested to pay more attention on teaching in this field at the dental schools. For graduate dentists, new and practical information about the choice of adhesive systems should be provided by continuous education programs.
