Abstract:
Background: Special needs patients (SNPs) are one of the underserved dental patient in Libya. A compromised oral health condition amongst SNPs has been associated with shortage of skills of dental professionals in management. Objective: to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Libyan dentists towards caring for SNPs. Methods: A cross sectional study including Libyan dentist in public and private dental clinics in Benghazi. Data were collected from a representative sample by using a modified questionnaire. Results: In the total sample (234), 32.1% of participants were males and 67.9% were females. More than 63% of dentists had good knowledge about mental retardation in Down syndrome, difficulty in swallowing and aware about major barriers in treating SNPs. About 45% of the dentists felt uncomfortable providing care for such patients, and more than half believe that good communications effective in treatment of SNPs. Majority of participants (89%) did not receive adequate
training in Special Care Dentistry (SCD) and cannot manage mentally disable patient in their clinic.
Conclusion and recommendation: Dentists had a good knowledge regarding different types of SNPs and best time to treat them, meanwhile they were lacking knowledge about dealing with mild and severe mentally disabled patients. They believe that SNPs should receive equal treatment as any others and agreed about the importance of SCD as a part of undergraduate curriculum Although most of the clinic were lacking the facilities for treating SNPs, some good behavior were recorded like ability of managing physically disabled patient, using of non-pharmacological methods, importance of training special nurse to deal with SNPs and using of special instruments and equipment. It is hoped that future researchers will be able to carry out the issues highlighted by present study.
