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CC BY 4.0 · European Journal of General Dentistry
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1802589
Original Article

Saudi Dentists' Awareness about “Hot Tooth” and Its Management

Syed Akhtar Hussain Bokhari 
1   Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Muhammad Farooq Umer 
1   Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Rizwan Jouhar
2   Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdulmohsen Althani
3   Dental Clinics Complex, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdulaziz Alshaik Hussain
3   Dental Clinics Complex, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdullah Alsumaih
3   Dental Clinics Complex, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdulaziz Fahad Al-Humaydhan
3   Dental Clinics Complex, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Abdulmalk Abdulatif Al-maghrabi
3   Dental Clinics Complex, College of Dentistry, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
,
Ayub Ali 
4   Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
› Author Affiliations
Funding This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia [Grant No. KFU250333].
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Abstract

Objective Management of “hot tooth” can be a problem in dental practice, and this study assessed the general practitioners and internees' knowledge and management about the “hot tooth” condition.

Materials and Methods An online cross-sectional study was conducted among general dental practitioners and internees of Saudi Arabia using a structured close-ended questionnaire. Knowledge and management of “hot tooth” was compared between general practitioners and internees, males and females, and dentists with graduate or postgraduate qualifications, job status, and work location. Data were analyzed using the Chi-squared test and binary regression analysis with statistical significance level of p ≤0.050.

Results Three hundred twenty nine participants comprised 57% females, 67% aged ≤29 years. In total, 94% had bachelor degree qualification, 58% were general practitioners, and 42% were internees. In addition, 27% were from eastern region; 81% had 5 or less years of practice; 56% study participants had heard about hot tooth and 35% knew the cause; 39% have faced hot tooth cases; 48% experienced embarrassment during management; 48% were able to solve the problem; 66% used lidocaine as local anesthesia (LA); 20% used three or more carpules, 76% had no knowledge of LA technique for hot tooth; 81% used intraosseous and intra-ligament technique; and 63% knew the toxic dose of LA solutions. General dental practitioners were significantly (p = 0.037) higher in number to face the hot tooth cases, solve the problem (p ≤ 0.001), and know the toxic dose of LA (p = 0.031). Binary regression analysis showed that males as compared to females, general dentists to internees, public sector to private sector had shown a significant (p ≤ 0.007) exposure to hot tooth condition and its management.

Conclusion A simple majority of dental practitioners of this study sample had knowledge of “hot tooth” and a small number have faced the problem. Majority of dentists had no knowledge of LA technique to manage hot tooth. Respectively, internees have shown further less knowledge and experience.

Keywords

hot tooth - awareness - management - general dental practitioners - interns

Ethical Approval

Ethical approval was obtained from Deanship of Research and Postgraduate Studies, King Faisal University vide letter # KFU-REC-2022- MAY–ETHICS6 dated 25-05-2022.


Authors' Contributions

S.A.H.B. conceived the study, wrote initial and final draft preparation; A.At, A.A.H, A.As, A.A.F. collected and managed data analysis; M.F.U, A.A and R.J. prepared results, reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors have critically reviewed the manuscript and agreed to the submitted version of the manuscript and are responsible for similarity index of the manuscript.


Data Availability Statement

Data are available upon request.




Publication History

Article published online:
11 March 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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