Dental Awareness, Knowledge and Attitude among the Medical Practitioners in Pokhara, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3126/jgmcn.v12i2.27165Keywords:
Morbidity, Mortality, Oral diseases, StatisticsAbstract
Introduction: Oral health is a window to our overall health. Negligence to oral health might have adverse effects on the general well being of a person. Hence, early detection and prompt treatment is of utmost importance. Lack of general medical practitioner’s knowledge of oral disease has been shown to contribute to delays in referral and treatment, thus significantly affecting the associated morbidity and mortality.
Methods: The present study was undertaken to assess knowledge, attitude and dental awareness among medical practitioners in Pokhara, Nepal. A list of medical practitioners was obtained from the NMA (Nepal Medical Association, Gandaki branch, Nepal) and sample size of 109 study subjects was calculated. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the medical practitioners. from March 2018 to April 2018. The data pertaining to their knowledge, attitude and awareness about oral health was gathered using a self-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Results of the study showed that the medical practitioners had moderate to good knowledge about dentistry as 97.2% of the medical practitioners answered correctly saying that brushing tooth daily prevents tooth decay and periodontal disease Whereas, when asked about the changes in the oral cavity which most commonly is associated with progression towards oral cancer, only 46.8% answered correctly by responding to non-healing ulcer/ erosive lesions.
Conclusions: It is imperative that the dental/medical practitioners have good knowledge about the oral diseases and its systemic manifestations, so as to have timely referral and early treatment to prevent the associated morbidity and mortality.
Downloads
References
Sarumathi T, Saravanakumar B, Datta M, Nagarathnam T. Awareness and knowledge of common oral diseases among primary care physicians. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2013 April;7(4):768-71.
Jovanovic A, Schulten EAJM, Waal I van der. Referral pattern of patients with oral mucosal lesions in The Netherlands. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol; 1992;20(2):94-6.
Chandra J, Chandu GN, Prashant GM. Dental awareness and attitudes of medical practitioners of Davangere city. Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry.2006;8:38-43.
Mehrotra V, Garg K, Sharma P, Sajid Z, Singh R. A Study Based on Dental Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes among the Medical Practitioners in and Around Kanpur City (India). J Interdiscipl Med Dent Sci. 2015;3:183.
Ramirez JH, Arce R, Contrera A. Why Must Physicians Know about Oral Diseases? Teaching and Learning in Medicine. 2010;22(2):148-55.
Srinidhi S, Ingle NA, Chaly PE, Reddy C. Dental Awareness and Attitudes among Medical Practitioners in Chennai. Journal of Oral Health & Community Dentistry. 2011;5:73-8.
Sujatha B, Yavagal PC, Gomez MSS. Assessment of oral health awareness among undergraduate medical Students in Davangere city: a cross-sectional survey. Journal of Indian Association Of Public Health Dentistry. 2015;12(1):43–4.
Patil A, Chavan S, Baghele O, Patel K, Patil K. Awareness of Oral Health among Medical Practitioners in Sangamner City- A Cross-sectional Survey. IJCDS.2010;4(12):26-9.
Nagrik A, Bhagat BA. Knowledge awareness and attitude of medical students and teachers towards oral hygiene – A questionnaire study. MedPulse – International Journal of Dentistry. April 2017;2(1):1-8.
Bashiru BO, Omotola OE. Oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of medical, pharmacy and nursing students at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. J Oral Res Rev. 2016;8:66-71.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
