Exploring factors influencing nurses' attitudes towards their role in dental care

The burden of oral disease requires collaboration between health care professionals. Nurses are frequently exposed to patients and can play a vital role in prevention of oral diseases. This study aimed to investigate nurses' attitudes towards their role in dental care and its associated factors. This cross-sectional, survey-based study recruited a total of 525 nurses in Eastern Saudi Arabia, using a snow-ball sampling technique. Data was collected using an online, pre-validated 40-item questionnaire with four domains (attitudes, knowledge, practices, and demographic data). Nurses showed satisfactory attitudes (52.8 ± 8.2) and average knowledge (13.4 ±3.9). More than two thirds (70.3%) reported responding to patients' questions about oral health conditions, 47.1% and 19.7% conducted oral health screening and education respectively. Referral practices were reported by 266 (50.7%) of the participants with pain being the main reason for referrals. Attending lectures/ trainings on oral health and having a formal education about oral health were significantly associated with nurses' positive attitudes towards their role in dental care (P