Abstract
Eye injuries account for 3-4% of all occupational injuries; however, dental practitioners are at relatively high risk of occupational ocular incidents during their practices. The study aims to assess the attitude, knowledge, and awareness towards the safety of the eye; measures undertaken for its protection and its probable variations regarding age, gender, qualification, and years of practice among dental practitioners in Saudi Arabia (SA).
In this cross-sectional study, 348 dental practitioners and dental staff from SA participated. Besides demography, information regarding their knowledge, attitude, perception towards eye safety protection, and measures followed was collected through a 28-questions structured questionnaire posted online.
Among the participants, 47.4% were male, 52.6% female, and 55% dentists. The data revealed that about 47% of the dentists were following clinical safety programs in their practice, 68% were employing a very high-level eye protection measure, whereas about 40% followed these measures just before starting the procedure, yet nearly 38% of the dentists faced ocular injury. Female practitioners had the highest level of knowledge on eye safety and protection. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that the awareness of the need for eye protection and inclusion of safety-glasses for UV protection were significant independent determinants of eye-injury incidence among dental professionals.
This survey comprehensively profiles dental professionals' awareness and attitude about safety measures for their eye protection in their practice. Thus, the outcome of the study may pave the way for practicing an evidence-based safety approach towards the prevention of occupational ocular incidents in SA.