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Introduction: Young children often cannot comply reasonably during dental treatment. For effective and efficient care, dental treatment under general anesthesia (DGA) may sometimes be necessary for the dental treatment of pediatric patients.

Objective: The present study aimed to assess knowledge and attitude of Nepalese dental practitioners towards pediatric dental treatment under general anesthesia.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted with an online-based questionnaire in Google forms among 400 dentists registered in the Nepal Medical Council. The questionnaires were completed in three sections: demographic data, knowledge, and attitude towards DGA. Knowledge was assessed using three multi-response questions and quantified, and attitude was evaluated using five dichotomous items. After completing, analysis was done by SPSS software v.26.0. Descriptive statistics like frequency and percentage were used to evaluate the primary results.

Results: Among the participants, 369 (92.3%) were aware of DGA. Among the participating dentists, 340 (85%) had no experience of performing DGA, and the most common reason for not doing DGA was lack of knowledge. Knowledge regarding DGA among the participants was poor (knowledge score 36.7%) among the participants. According to the participants, possibility of performing multiple dental treatment in one session was the major benefit of DGA. Among the participants performing DGA, the most common conditions for preferring DGA were when the child required multiple dental treatment but was unable to attend multiple times, and children with special healthcare needs. Attitude towards DGA was positive among participants (mean attitude 4.27/5). Majority of the participants agreed that DGA helps the dentists to provide effective and efficient treatment.

Conclusions: The present study revealed that the practice of DGA is very low among the Nepalese dentists. Although the participants had positive attitude towards DGA, knowledge regarding DGA was poor. The present study reveals the gap between perception and understanding of DGA among the Nepalese dentists. This ultimately highlights the need of revision of curriculum in dental schools so as to increase knowledge and practice of the students, and provision of regular standardized training on DGA to the Nepalese dentists to enhance their skill and practice of DGA.