Data from: Special care dentistry perception among dentists in Jakarta: an online survey study

Special Care Dentistry (SCD) or Special Needs Dentistry is a branch of
dentistry concerned with the oral health of people with a variety of
medical conditions or limitations that require more than routine delivery
of care. There were reports on oral status of special care patients and
special interest group for SCD dentists in Indonesia has existed. However,
there was not perception report on SCD amongst dentists in Jakarta. This
paper will describe the perception of dentists in Jakarta towards SCD. A
cross-sectional questionnaire, translated and cross adapted to Indonesian,
was distributed online through Whatsapp to dentists registered in Jakarta
late 2019. Quantitative data was analyzed using statistical software for
proportion and correlation using Chi-Square test. The questionnaire
explored dentists’ perception towards SCD. A total of 250 dentists
participated in this study, of them 173 general practitioners and 77
specialist dentists. Most respondents reported that they did not have SCD
component during undergraduate dental school and did not provide treatment
to patients with special needs in their clinical practice. Most
respondents have poor perception of SCD, however, most of the respondents
showed motivation and interest towards SCD training. Dentists in Jakarta
involved in this study had poor perception of SCD. More efforts should be
performed to improve SCD education and awareness.