Abstract:

Objective: A pediatrician is the primary care physician who deals with the medical care of infants, children and adolescents. In these age groups, oral health is an inseparable part of general health. However, pediatricians have scanty exposure to the expertise of oral health care since it’s regarded and practiced as a separate specialization under the aegis of dentistry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge levels of pediatricians working in Ankara province regarding oral and dental health. Material and Methods: A questionnaire which had five different sections was distributed to 120 pediatricians who were working at Dr. Sami Ulus Education and Research Hospital. The first one the questionnaires included sociodemographic information such as age, gender and working year. The second part included questions measuring the level of knowledge about pediatric risk factors for oral diseases. In the third and fourth sections, physicians were asked about the prevention of oral diseases and attitudes and behaviors regarding examination and treatment. In the fifth section, pediatricians were questioned about the source of their knowledge about oral health and how frequent it was refreshed. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between the demographic data and answers to the questionnaire. Results: Seventy-seven pediatricians (10 male, 67 female) who answered the questionnaire were included in the present study. While 10.4%of the physicians stated that the frequency of sugar use does not effect for caries formation, 24.7%stated they do not know about any possible relationship. 90.2%of the pediatricians stated that they evaluated their patients' eating habits and 50.6%of them expressed that they always performed oral examination. The relationship between the sex of the participating physicians and the answers they gave to the questionnaires was evaluated. It was determined that female physicians regard the oral cavity anatomy as a higher risk factor for the formation of tooth decay (p = 0.044), gingivitis (p = 0.044) and malocclusion (p = 0.044). Conclusion: These results show that post-specialist training and courses for pediatricians in our country, including oral and dental hygiene, may be useful. Also, inclusion of articles related to oral and dental health in scientific journals for pediatricians can be useful for increasing their awareness regarding the subject.

Keywords: