ABSTRACT
Objective: Oral health is an essential component of a child’s general health. This study aimed to assess pediatricians’ knowledge, attitude and practice of infant oral health.
Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021. Questionnaires were sent through Google Forms to pediatricians all over Pakistan. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (independent sample T-test).
Results: A total of 92 pediatricians submitted their responses. These included 35 (47.3%) males and 39 (52.7%) females. Most of the participants (n = 59, 79.7%) had up to 10 years of medical practice experience, with 66.2% (n = 49) working in government hospitals. A generally positive attitude was observed with 89.2% (n = 66) of participants acknowledging their role in the prevention of dental caries. However, the majority (n = 41, 55.4%) did not examine patients for caries in their routine practice. The mean evidence-based knowledge score of the participants was 4.79 + 2.13 (maximum score 9) and the practice-based knowledge score was 1.21 + 1.21 (maximum score 3). Pediatricians who had received training in oral health were found to have a greater knowledge score, as compared to their counterparts without any training (p = 0.002).
Conclusion: The overall knowledge and practice of pediatricians regarding infant oral health was lacking. However, the knowledge of pediatricians with training was significantly greater than their counterparts without training, thereby suggesting the need for incorporating oral health promotion training in pediatric curricula.
Key words: Key words: Infant oral health, Early childhood caries, pediatricians, oral health promotion, caries assessment
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