EVALUATING THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF DENTISTS WITH REGARD TO OBSERVING THE MERCURY HEALTH PRINCIPLES IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS OF AHVAZ, SOUTHWEST OF IRAN

Introduction: Due to the complications of using mercury in the dentistry profession, observing mercury health principles should be at the top of the comprehensive guidelines of the clinic administration to protect the health of clinic staff and optimize the work and life environment. Thus, in this research, the knowledge and attitude and practice of dentists with regard to observing the mercury health principles were examined in Ahvaz city in southwestern of Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and analytical research was conducted on 100 dentistry students in Ahvaz city by using knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaires, each containing 17, 10, and 15 questions, respectively. Data were analyzed by software SPSS. Results: based on the obtained data, the mean knowledge of the subjects was 46.40 with standard deviation of 7.5. The mean attitude of the subjects was 62.37 with standard deviation of 8.09. The mean practice of the subjects was 20.3 with standard deviation of 6. Therefore, the results revealed that knowledge and practice of dentists in Ahvaz are at undesirable level in terms of observing the principles of mercury health. Moreover, dentists had a positive attitude to observing mercury health principles and no significant relationship was found between knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists of Ahvaz with regard to observing the principles of mercury health. Discussion and Conclusion: based on the research results, it is necessary to take appropriate measures in order to enhance the knowledge of dentists, especially during the curriculum or retraining courses. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Mercury Health Principles, Clinic, Dentistry.