Comparison of the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) between Japanese Dental Students with Experience Using SDF and Those with No Experience Using SDF: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in the knowledge and attitude regarding silver diamine fluoride (SDF) between two groups, differentiated by whether they had experience in SDF use, of dental students and clinical trainee dentists in Japan. Methods: A survey was designed consisting of three dental classes (fourth, fifth, and sixth years) and clinical trainees at Kyushu Dental University. A survey was designed consisting of 32 questions about the knowledge, attitudes, esthetic acceptability, and potential barriers regarding the use of SDF. Results: A total of 286 surveys (response rate of 85.4%) were collected. Among all respondents, 21.7% had experience with SDF use in their clinical practice. Regarding the knowledge score for SDF (0 to 12 points), in the respondents with no experience of using SDF, the mean score was 3.06, and that of respondents with experience of using SDF was 1.66, which was a significant difference (p < 0.001). The mean esthetic acceptability score for SDF use (−8 to 8 points) of the clinical trainees was −1.00 and that of the fourth-year students was 0.74, which was a significant difference (p < 0.05). Conclusions: the results indicate that dental students and clinical trainees need to increase their clinical experience with SDF.