Oral and Dental Nursing Care Knowledge and Practice Among Nurses Working at Primary Dental Clinic: A Survey Study

The aim of the current study was to assess oral and dental nursing care knowledge and practice among nurses working at the primary dental clinic. Propose an oral and dental nursing training program based on nurses' knowledge and practice. A cross- sectional survey study design was utilized to attain the aim of the study. The study sample consisted of a cross-sectional sample of 112 nurses working at a dental clinic in Primary Health Care (PHC) setting. Two tools were developed by the researcher were used for data collection: oral& dental nursing care knowledge questionnaire and Nurses' practices observational checklist. The study results indicated that the majority of nurses have poor knowledge and practice regarding dental nursing care. The majority of nurses didn't receive any dental health topic in their academic education. Majority of nurses didn't receive any training related to on dental health in their nursing carrier. A significant relationship was found between total practice scores, years of experience and previous training on oral &dental nursing care. Also, a significant relationship was detected between nurses' total knowledge and total practice scores. Conclusions: oral &dental nursing care knowledge and practice were poor among nurses working at a primary dental clinic. The Current study recommended implementation of the proposed training program for nurses working at a primary dental clinic to improve their knowledge and practice regarding dental nursing care.