Investigation of clinical periodontal knowledge levels of self-employed and non-specialized dentists in the south east Anatolia region and the rates and reasons for referral to a periodontology specialist

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the current status of periodontal treatment given by self-employed and non-specialized (referred to as 'general dentists') dentists in the Southeastern Anatolia Region and the criteria taken into consideration for referring patients to a Periodontology specialist or faculty. Material and Method: The questionnaire including demographic information and periodontal knowledge level, referral procedures to periodontologists and factors affecting the causes consisted of 22 questions. The questionnaires were calculated by sampling calculation based on the number of self-employed and non-specialized Dentists in the provinces of the South East Region, taken from the Chambers of Dentists, and were made online via 'Google Forms'. According to this; A total of 1256 dentists were calculated as 294 with a sampling error of 5%, but the sample size was taken as 300 in order to obtain more reliable results. According to this formula, the distribution of the number of surveys by provinces is as follows: Gaziantep:103 Diyarbakır: 54 Şanlıurfa: 48 Mardin: 26 Batman: 23 Adıyaman: 19 Şırnak: 16 Siirt: 7 Kilis: 4 Results: The study showed that the majority of general dentists perform non-surgical procedures on their own. However, approximately 78% of respondents stated that they did not perform surgical periodontal treatment on their own. About 22% of responding general dentists consider that they have insufficient training and experience in periodontology, a major reason for referral to specialists. Conclusion: In our study, it can be concluded that general dentists are comfortable in performing non-surgical procedures such as scaling and root planing. However, there are still some reservations about surgical periodontal procedures. This may be due to insufficient experience, insufficient dental clinic facilities, and/or forensic concerns.