Knowledge and practice regarding dental radiologic waste disposal among special and general dentists in Amol and Babol cities

To assess dentist’s knowledge and practice about dental radiologic wastes which are dangerous to the environment.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted during 2018-19. All participants completed a two sections’ (knowledge and practice) checklist. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA.Significance was set at P≤ 0.05

Totally, 204 (73.5% general and 26.5% specialist) dentists from Amol (35.8%) and Babol (64.2%) participated. The mean age of participants was 39.2 (SD± 10.9) years, and 59.2% of them were female. The average percentage of dentists’ knowledge and practice about radiologic wastes disposal were 42.55% and 43.12% respectively. Gender, work experience, special or general degree, and city of clinical activity had no significant effect on dentists’ knowledge and performance (P>0.05).

More than half of dentists did not have correct knowledge and practice on how to dispose radiologic waste. It is necessary to develop specific approaches such as workshops and training classes.