ABSTRACT
Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness of the pediatricians in preventing dental caries in the children of Ernakulum district, as the first step towards educating parents about the preventive health strategies and implementation of these should begin at the pediatrician’s office. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 50 private and 50 institution based pediatricians of Ernakulam district. Their knowledge was assessed about dental caries, fluoride supplement and spread of caries. Their attitude toward prevention of dental caries was assessed based on queries about their role in promoting oral health, assessment of dental caries during routine examination. The collected data was tabulated and percent frequency distributions for responses to each questions were calculated. Results: A majority (72.9%) of the pediatricians routinely examined the oral cavity of the patients for caries. However, 62.5% diagnosed caries as frank cavities on teeth before referral to the dentist. About 71.8% of them felt that they are committed towards upholding the oral health of a child, but constrained knowledge hampers their counselling process. About 54.5% of the practitioners gave credence to 1 year as an ideal age for the first dental checkup for the child. Conclusion: As the results of this study clearly revealed that, 71.8% of the pediatricians felt that they have the obligation towards the maintenance of a child’s oral health. Therefore, a well informed and perceptive pediatrician can improve the oral health of a child by carrying out dental examination along with physical examination at his office.
ABSTRACT
Aim: to evaluate the willingness of general dental practitioners to provide dental care to children of various age group, the ole dental education plays in shaping future dentists’ attitudes and behaviours concerning treatment and various treatment procedures carried out for child patients in private dental setup. Methods: A 24-item questionnaire survey was developed to determine the variables associated with the attitude of dentists towards treating children. Questions in the survey focused on the dentists’ willingness to treat child patients in general, whether they have specialist in clinic and practice regular follows up of 6 months for children, the barriers they face in treating children, their educational experiences, types of treatments rendered etc., Results and Conclusion: Majority of private practitioners participated in this study treat children and have a positive attitude towards them, even though time consumption and financial constraints was a major barrier. Recommendations could be made to modify undergraduate curricula to encourage dentists to provide treatment to child patients without any reluctance. Efforts should be made to promote the general dentists' willingness to treat children by overcoming the barriers or by referring the children to paediatric dentists as and when necessary.