A Cross-Sectional Survey on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Dental Ethics among Dental Graduates of Karachi, Pakistan: A Multicenter Study

BACKGROUND: Dental ethics apply moral principles and virtues governing the character and conduct of an individual to the practice of dentistry. In dental practice, various ethical issues rises which need to be dealt with extreme sensitivity and professionalism according to the various codes of dental ethics. OBJECTIVE: To determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of dental ethics among dental graduates and to compare the KAP of dental ethics between House officers (HOs) and Postgraduate students (PGs). METHODS: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted at four different dental colleges in Karachi (January-June, 2022). The questionnaire consisted of 13 self-administered closed-ended questions. Questionnaires were distributed for the face-to-face survey among target participants. Knowledge, attitude, and practices of dental ethics principles about the routine dental clinical practice were inquired. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. RESULTS: 390 complete responses were received. 65.7% of respondents were HOs, and 34.3% were PGs. 74% of dental graduates exhibited inadequate knowledge. 52.7% of dental graduates displayed poor attitudes. Poor practices were recorded largely in our study as only 48.5% of overall respondents depicted favorable responses to the asked questions. The frequency of inadequate knowledge among HO and PGs was 84% and 64% respectively. 50% of HOs and 44.5% of PGs showed poor attitudes. 48.5% overall respondents (HOs and PGs) depicted favorable responses to the asked questions indicating poor practices. CONCLUSION: Inadequate knowledge, poor attitude, and poor practices related to dental ethics are noted by dental graduates in our study. Years of experience and learning have an impact on responses.