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. 2012 Oct 9:12:855.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-855.

Physicians' knowledge of and adherence to improving oral health

Sepideh Rabiei  1 , Simin Z Mohebbi, Kristiina Patja, Jorma I Virtanen
Affiliations

Physicians' knowledge of and adherence to improving oral health

Sepideh Rabiei et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Integration of oral health promotion into general health care has been highly recommended by the World Health Organization. Primary-care physicians can as part of their general health care promote and contribute to improved oral health care. Our aim was to investigate primary-care physicians' knowledge of oral health, their attitudes toward delivering oral health care (OHC), and their willingness to obtain more education in this field.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of all primary-care physicians working in the public health centers of Tehran city. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire queried their knowledge in pediatric- and general medicine-related areas of dentistry, providing knowledge scores to be calculated for three domains. The physicians' attitudes toward OHC and willingness to pursue continuous education underwent evaluation with statements utilizing a 5-point Likert scale. Totally, 220 physicians took part in the survey (response rate: 92%). Chi-square test, linear and logistic regression, and t-test served for statistical analyses.

Results: The physicians' knowledge score was significantly lower in the pediatric domain than in the dental and medical domains (p < 0.001). The number of physicians answering correctly to the pediatric questions was less than 40%. Almost all physicians (95%) reported it necessary for a physician to know about OHC and admitted (78%) that physicians' general knowledge in this field is inadequate. Further, 77% of the physicians expressed a will to implement preventive oral health activities in their practice, and almost two-thirds (62%) of them showed a willingness to pursue further education about OHC. Those with higher knowledge scores had a greater willingness to deliver oral health care to their patients.

Conclusions: Physicians' lack of knowledge of OHC and their generally positive attitudes toward it revealed a great need for planning of a continuous medical education program in primary care.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Physicians’ answers to pediatric dentistry questions. Detailed legend: The percentage of physicians’ (n = 220) correct answers to pediatric dentistry questions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Physicians’ answers to general dentistry questions. Detailed legend: The percentage of physicians’ (n = 220) correct answers to general dentistry questions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Physicians’ answers to dentistry-related medical questions. Detailed legend: The percentage of physicians’ (n = 220) correct answers to dentistry-related medical questions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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