Attitude Of General Dental Practitioner Towards Biopsy Procedures In Maharashtra-A Survey

Abstract

Background: General dental practitioners (GDPs) come across a lot of pathological lesions in the oral cavity. The present study was conducted to assess attitudes, amount of risk and awareness of general practitioners toward biopsy procedures.

Materials & Methods: 1000 general practitioners of both genders were administered a self-designed questionnaire detailing open- and close-ended questions regarding the sociodemographic and professional aspects of the dental practitioners and their knowledge about oral biopsy procedures filled in by the randomly selected dental practitioners was used.

Results: Out of 1000 subjects, males were 653 and females were 347. In response to question, do you think every lesion should be send for histopathological examination the reply was yes in 10% and no in 90%. If you do biopsy do you send for histopathological examination, the reply was yes in 92% and no in 8%. Have you been satisfied with the histopathological report in the past, the reply was yes in 89% and no in 11%. Do you feel there is a need to update your knowledge regarding lesions and biopsy procedure, the reply was yes in 94% and no in 6%. The difference was significant (P< 0.05).

Conclusion: General practitioners thought that biopsy should be regularly used as a tool in the diagnosis of questionable oral lesions