# Awareness Levels About Specialty Services Offered by the Faculty of Dentistry in Sebha, Libya

## TL;DR

This study assesses public awareness of dental specialty services at Sebha University in Libya to guide future improvements.

## Contribution

The study provides a novel assessment of awareness and satisfaction with dental services in a Libyan context.

## Key findings

- 72.9% of respondents were aware of the dental services offered by SDC.
- Awareness levels for most dental specialties were low despite high visitation rates.
- 68% of respondents reported satisfaction with the services, indicating potential for improvement.

## Abstract

Background: Assessment of awareness levels about any hospital is critical to judge its current standings and plan for future development. Limited literature is available about dental health in Libya.

Aim: This study aimed to study the awareness and perception of the various specialty services offered by the Faculty of Dentistry (SDC), Sebha University for their quality and preference.

Materials and methods: It was a performance monitoring research, and the data was collected by interview using a standardized questionnaire. Non-probability judgmental sampling was used. The offered services included all specialties in dentistry and oral cancer screening. Information relating to the awareness and perception of SDC specialty services was collected with few agree/disagree questions from 450 subjects. Data was collected, tabulated, and analyzed with descriptive statistics using SPSS v23.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).

Results: About 22.7% (n=102) were in the 45-54 years age group. Self-employed (n=108, 24%) and professional (n=108, 24%) were noted in occupation. Forty-eight (n=216) were graduates. Three hundred twenty-eight respondents (72.9%) were aware about the dental services. Four hundred twenty-eight respondents (95.1%) have visited SDC. Three hundred six respondents (68%) were satisfied, and 66 respondents (14.7%) were very much satisfied. Dental health checkups were predominantly known to the respondents (n=302, 67%). For all the other specialties, the awareness level was low.

Conclusion: The identification of weak areas is crucial for the future planning and development of oral health care rendered by SDC.