Knowledge and attitude of dental faculty members towards evidence‐based dentistry in Iran

Educating dental practitioners is a major component in obtaining evidence‐based approach to oral health care, but there is no evidence about knowledge and attitude of dental faculty members towards evidence‐based dentistry ( EBD ) in I ran. Materials and methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted using self‐administered questionnaires on dental school faculties in I ran to assess their knowledge and attitude towards basic principles and methods of EBD . A total of eight dental schools were randomly selected of 17 public and two existing private schools. Validated questionnaire with an appropriate reliability ( C ronbach's alpha 0.67 – 0.87) was conducted on ( n  = 505) available dental instructors. The covered dimensions were perceived knowledge on critical appraisal, actual knowledge of EBD concepts, evidence‐accessing methods and attitudes about EBD . Correlations were assessed between background characteristics and four main parts of the questionnaire, and multiple linear regression analysis was also used. Results A total of 377 of 505 dental instructors returned completed questionnaires (response rate 74.65%). The mean perceived knowledge score was 15.32 ± 4.69 on a range of 6–36, and mean actual knowledge was 7.98 ± 2.0 on a range of 0–11 for all respondents with an overall positive attitude towards EBD . Conclusions This study suggests that the level of actual knowledge of dental faculties about basic principles of EBD was moderate in I ran. However, faculties' overall interest and positive attitude towards learning EBD is encouraging. Therefore, it is highly recommended that degree/certificate continuing educational programmes be planned by the organising committees.