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Evaluation of attitude and preparedness of dental students to treat patients suffering from infectious diseases

Background: Patients carrying serious infections always carry a high risk of transmission during dental treatment. Dentists by their positive attitude and level of preparedness can prevent the transmission of these infections in a dental setting. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study planned to evaluate the attitude and preparedness of undergraduate and postgraduate students of Baba Jaswant Singh Dental College, Hospital and Research Institute, Ludhiana, India, toward patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus during their dental treatment. The study material was a questionnaire consisting of questions from various validated questions from the literature. The data obtained from 464 students (94 males and 360 females) were tabulated and analyzed using “t”-test and “Chi-square” test. Results: Students showed passive attitude (attitude score < 75%) and poor preparedness with no difference with respect to dentistry year. Females revealed more preparedness, and it was significantly associated with their attitude (t-test, P = 0.007). Discussion: Unwillingness of the students to treat infected patients is attributable to their fear of being infected during treatment, lack of supporting staff, and unawareness of the importance of biomedical waste disposal and use of disposable instruments. Conclusions: The study clearly highlighted the need of teaching students about the transmission of these diseases and implementation of universal precautions at regular intervals to increase their moral and practical ability to handle such patients.