Recall Practice among Dental Practitioners in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The study aims to assess recall practice among dental practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A 24-item questionnaire was used to collect information about the general practice, knowledge of dental recall, and factors affecting dental recall from general dental practitioners in Riyadh. The questionnaire elicited data on personal information (8 items), practice information (3 items), knowledge about the dental recall (3 items), recall practice (6 items), and patient factors that might influence recall (4 items). A five-point Likert scale showed the level of agreement in cases that required recall visits, reasons for patients not returning for recall, and techniques to encourage return for recall.

A total of 315 questionnaires were analyzed (response rate = 46.3%). The mean age of participants was 32.4 years old and 52.4% of participants were male. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported that they routinely perform regular recall with their patients. Recall practice was significantly associated with practitioner experience, country of graduation, and workplace. Practitioners who graduated from Saudi universities were found to be less likely to practice regular recall visits compared to others (p <0.01). On the other hand, practitioners who are working in university hospitals are more likely to practice dental recall compared to those who are working only in dental clinics (p = 0.02).

A low percentage of dentists advocated and practiced regular recall visits in their private practice. Efforts should be undertaken to educate the practitioners on the importance of regular recall visits in their healthcare settings.

Scheduling appropriate recall visits is an essential component for achieving successful treatment outcomes. This study highlights the poor recall practice among dentists and the need to raise the awareness of the importance of recall visits.