Dental laser education and knowledge among final year dental students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

AbstractAim of the studyTo assess the educational level and the knowledge of the final year dental students at King Saud University regarding the uses of laser in Dentistry.Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University in Riyadh. A questionnaire was designed and answered by 94 final year dental students. The questionnaire consisted of 2 parts. First part was about dental laser education and the second one was about the knowledge of dental laser applications. The second part was sub-sectioned to 6 sections. Each section consisted of several items related to the uses of laser in 5 different dental specialties in addition to a section in laser protection. The analysis was performed by scoring 2 for a correct response, 0 for don’t know response and −2 for an incorrect response. Students’ knowledge scores were calculated and transferred to a scale ranged between 2 and −2. Score of ⩾1 was considered as sufficient knowledge, while score of