ArticleThe Saudi dental journal2025
Clinical dental privileges in Saudi Arabia: awareness, perceived competence, and practice among general dentists.
Article in The Saudi dental journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the awareness of general dentists in Saudi Arabia on clinical dental privileges, evaluate the practicality of these privileges in clinical practice, and to explore dentists perceived competence in performing procedures that are considered beyond their authorized scope. A questionnaire was distributed randomly to general dentists across Saudi Arabia through the research offices of the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties and the Saudi Dental Society. The questionnaire included demographic data, self-reported awareness of MOH dental privileges, and responses to six clinical scenarios to assess privilege awareness, perceived competence, and clinical practice. Chi-square tests were used to analyze associations between these variables, with significance set at p < 0.05. Out of 238 respondents, 72% reported awareness of MOH dental privileges. However, significant mismatches were observed between awareness and actual practice across most scenarios. Procedures most commonly performed outside authorized privileges included in-office vital tooth bleaching, placement of single-unit crowns, and molar root canal treatment (RCT). A strong association was found between lack of awareness of the privileges or perceived competence and performing these procedures. Despite moderate levels of awareness, significant gaps remain between general dentists' awareness, perceived competence, and actual clinical practice. The majority of the sample perform procedures beyond their authorized scope of care, often due to misunderstandings about privilege boundaries or confidence in their skills. These findings highlight the need for enhanced communication of privilege regulations, integration of privilege education into undergraduate curricula, and alignment between training and policy. Such reforms are essential to ensure safe, standardized dental practice in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.