Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding the Systemic Effects of Oral Diseases among the Medical Practitioners

摘要

Hundred medical practitioners working at primary, secondary and tertiary level of health care delivery system work accessed for their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the systemic effects of oral diseases. Majority of the respondents had poor (48%) to fair (42%) level of KAP regarding the systemic effects of oral diseases. Only 14%, 16%, 6%, 24% and 4% were aware that the periodontal disease may be the possible risk factor for CHD, cerebral infarction, diabetes mellitus, hospital acquired pneumonia and preterm labor (LBW babies) respectively. Only 12% of the respondents were referring all the patients with systemic disorders related to dental diseases to a dentist. Since many of the unknown etiologies of the systemic diseases may be found in the oral cavity it is required to create felt needs amongst the dental and medical practitioners to understand the importance of the inter-relationship between systemic and oral diseases and using the current knowledge for the welfare of their patients. Work done at: Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Gangtok, Sikkim, India. Introduction The oral cavity is the site of many infectious and inflammatory diseases. According to National Oral Health Survey dental caries is prevalent among 63.1% of 15years old and as much as 80% among adults in age group of 35-44 years. Periodontal diseases are prevalent in 67.7% of 15 years old and as much as 89.6% of adults in the age group of 35-44 years 1 .The potential impact of many systemic disorders on the periodontium is well documented, recent evidence suggests that periodontal infection may significantly enhance the risk for certain systemic diseases or alter the natural course of systemic conditions 2,3 . Conditions in which the influences of periodontal infections are documented include coronary heart disease, CHD-related events such as angina, infarction and atherosclerosis, stroke, diabetes mellitus, preterm labor (low birth-weight babies) and respiratory conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) 2,3,4 .Since many medical professionals are unfamiliar with the oral cavity and oral health research, they do not recognize the potential infection that may exist within the oral cavity 5 . Therefore the present KAP (knowledge, attitude and practices) study was carried to understand the ground realities. Material & Methods The present study to know the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) among the medical practitioners regarding the systemic effects of oral diseases was carried out in one of the North Eastern States India on two different occasions. Two separate groups of medical practitioners, one attending a clinical meeting at a tertiary level of health care institution and other group of general duty doctors attending an on job training were studied. Consent to conduct the study was obtained from the concerned authorities as well as the participants. Both the groups were given a pre-designed, pre-tested MCQ type questionnaire to solve on the spot. To summarize the KAP level, response was graded from 0-20.The respondents securing 0-4,5-8,9-12,13-16 & 17-20 marks were graded as having KAP level as poor, fair, good, very good and excellent respectively. The data thus collected were compiled, analyzed, and interpreted. Results were expressed in terms of percentage and proportions. Observations Response rate was hundred percent. There were a total of 102 respondents, 52 in first group and 50 in the second group. Two of the respondents in first group were non-medicos (i.e. M.Sc in medical sciences), so they were not included in the final analysis. The general duty doctors were working at primary and secondary level of health care delivery. No difference was observed in the KAP regarding the systemic effects of oral diseases among the medical practitioners working at tertiary level of health care institution and the general duty doctors working at primary and secondary level of health care delivery.