Authors: Asma Al Meslet, Shaima Aldhafeeri, Atheer Alzahrani, Ashwaq Alshehri, Kawther Al-gahtani, Marwa Abdul Majeed, Munnera Alanizi
Introduction: Bell’s palsy is an idiopathic, acute peripheral palsy of the facial nerve that results in muscle weakness on one side of the face, characterized by sudden onset, and unilateral facial paralysis, lower motor neurone weakness of the facial nerve with no other neurological abnormalities and no readily identifiable cause.
Aim: The aim of this study was to measure the knowledge and attitude among dental students and dental interns about Bell’s palsy in Riyadh city, KSA.
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional paper based questionnaire survey and An online survey was developed using surveymonkey.com. 654 dentists and dental students in Riyadh City carrying out by using online Raosoft Sample Size Calculator.
Results: Of the total 645 participants, over two third were females (68), The majority of the participants reported that they have heard about Bell’s palsy (92%). The majority reported appropriately that facial nerve is affected in a patient with Bell’s palsy (87%). One third re-ported that diabetes is a risk factor for Bell's palsy (33%). Most of the participants reported that Bell's palsy last up to 6 months (59%). The majority reported that Bell's palsy can happen during inferior alveolar nerve block (72%).
Conclusion: The knowledge of anatomy, diagnosis and treatment was satisfactory and suggest that they have sufficient awareness. Dental students and dentists should expose to any medical condition that could be happen because of iatrogenic reason.
View/Download pdf