Aim: The survey aims to assess awareness, knowledge, attitude and practices (AKAP) regarding sustainable dentistry among dental practitioners, also investigate challenges, as well as enablers for establishing an eco-friendly dental practice.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2024, among dental practitioners in Alexandria, Egypt. The sample size was 216. A pre-designed, structured, closed-ended online questionnaire was used that consisted of six sections.
Results: It was found that the majority of dental participants (72.7%) showed a low level of awareness, and (75.9%) either never encountered the term "sustainable dentistry" or possessed minimal knowledge of the overall concept. Around half of them (53.3%) showed moderate level of knowledge, and (67.6%) showed poor sustainable practice, however, they showed a high level of attitude where (63.4%) agreed to embrace sustainability and (21.3%) were neutral. No significant difference was found between the different age groups across all the domains. The main challenge for establishing an eco-friendly practice was ‘lack of knowledge' followed by ‘financial constraints', while the reported enablers were the ‘presence of recycling programs', ‘modern digital technologies', and ‘renewable energy'.
Conclusions: Study identified low awareness and insufficient levels of knowledge and practice regarding sustainable dentistry. It is recommended to incorporate sustainability in dental undergraduate curriculum, as well as extracurricular activities to enhance competencies of future generations, also conduct interventional studies to improve sustainable dentistry.