PAEDIATRIC ORAL HEALTH ? PERCEPTIONS OF PAEDIATRICIANS IN URBAN VIJAYAWADA, INDIA

Aim: Children visit the Paediatricians more often than a dentist and thus it is crucial that they be aware of the dental diseases and their consequences in children. This will enable them to make an early diagnosis and appropriate referral to a pediatric dentist. Hence the present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of currently practicing Paediatricians on oral health care of children from urban Vijayawada. Methodology: A structured questionnaire survey made up of 20 items pertaining to knowledge on oral health, attitude and practice towards dentistry was distributed among 57 Paediatricians and given scores based on 3 point Likert scale. The collected data was tabulated using Microsoft excel for any predictable patterns. The results were analyzed taking absolute percentages of the responses into consideration. Results: Of the 57 eligible participants, 51 responded out of which 50 duly completed the questionnaire. Of the eligible respondents, only 18% believed that dental caries is a transmissible disease and 54% considered to avoid medicated sugary syrups as they cause early dental caries. Most of them accepted the need for an interdisciplinary approach between Paediatrician and Paediatric dentist to offer better oral health for differently abled children. Conclusion: This study shows that most of the paediatricians from urban Vijayawada have appropriate knowledge, attitude and practice towards dentistry especially paediatric dentistry. However, few misconceptions regarding paediatric dentistry need to be addressed.