Knowledge and awareness of dental practitioners, interns, students and assistants towards mercury hazards in dental amalgam

Abstract

Objectives: Recently, an increase in the replacement of dental amalgam with other restorations due to its hazards and non-esthetic properties. This study aimed to assess the basic knowledge of dental practitioners, assistants, interns, and students (at the collage of dentistry in king Saud university, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) towards the level of which dental amalgam can be considered hazardous and its proper handling.Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study, Surveys were distributed among dental practitioners, interns, assistants, and students in both campuses of the dental collage at King Saud University (male and female campuses) in Riyadh 2018.Results: Out of 404 responses, dental assistants were significantly higher in knowledge than other groups with regard to mercury-related hazardous issues (p