A cross-sectional survey on the Awareness of Waste Management Practices Among Dental Practitioners in Dental Clinic in Enugu Metropolis

Abstract

This study was undertaken to examine the level of awareness of waste management practices among dental practitioners at dental clinic in Enugu metropolis. A total of forty-five (45) dental practitioners involved in the study were provided with a self-administered questionnaire comprising the source of dental waste management awareness, knowledge attitude, and practices on dental waste. The investigation showed that the main source of dental waste management was through training/conference 82.2%. Exactly 71.1% of the practitioners were aware of the guideline laid down by the government for BMW disposal while 6.7% were unaware. The majority of the practitioners 82.2 % were aware of different colored bags used to dispose of different types of waste while 11.1 % and 6.7 % of the respondent tick ‘No’ and ‘Don’t know’ respectively. Only 15.5% knew that pyrolysis is an environmentally friendly technology that converts organic waste to commercially useful by-products, while 11.1% knew that thermoplastics in dentistry cannot be reused and not biodegradable. Few practitioners are aware of the type of incinerator present in their dental clinic 31.1%. However, dental nursing had a higher level of awareness 75.0% over other cadres. Also, the gender variable was not significantly related to the level of awareness (p = .903). Nevertheless, the female’s counterpart had a higher level of awareness 33.3 % than the male’s counterpart 31.6%. The overall level of awareness of the safe management of dental waste accounted for 31.1% of the respondents. Our findings showed that there was a low level of awareness of dental waste management among the studied population. Nevertheless, it is important to provide a guide for policies and legislation. This is evident from the fact that it is the knowledge of what specifically constitutes waste and the categories of waste that determine how wastes are dealt with or managed. This knowledge is crucial for properly disposing of dental materials, recovering resources, and assessing technical and environmental implications. Moreover, waste management techniques ought to be a regular topic of discussion in training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses. Keywords: Dental practitioners, waste, management, Practices