knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists towards prophylaxis after exposure to blood and body fluids

background: post-exposure prophylaxis plays an important role in prevention of bloodborne diseases after occupational exposures. objective: to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists towards post-exposure prophylaxis. methods: in a cross-sectional study, 140 dentists in shiraz were selected through a systematic randomized sampling. they filled out a self-made questionnaire including 30 knowledge, 4 attitude and 10 practice questions. mean of knowledge and percentage of various items of attitude and practice were reported. results: the mean±sd knowledge score of dentists was 18.5±6.2. knowledge had a significant relationship with the level of education (p<0.001), attending infection control seminars (p<0.001), and working in public clinics (p<0.001). a total of 63 (43%) dentists believed that immediate washing of the exposed area has no effect on the prevention of hepatitis and aids. of the studied dentists, 13%, 11%, and 34% believed that prophylaxis after exposure to patients' blood had no effect on prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv), hepatitis b virus, and hepatitis c virus infections, respectively. only 170 (53%) exposed dentists immediately washed the exposed area and only 43 (13.4%) of them evaluated the source patient for risk factors of hepatitis and aids. conclusion: knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists working in shiraz towards postexposure prophylaxis are not desirable. interventions to raise their awareness are therefore warranted.