International Journal of Dentistry Research 2017; 2(2): 40-43 DOI:10.31254/dentistry.2017.2205

Research Article

Primary teeth: Paediatrician’s perspective– A survey

Ila Srinivasan¹

Ila Srinivasan

1. Department of Pedodontics and Preventive dentistry, M R Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore560005, Karnataka, India

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 3rd April, 2017 / Accepted: 15th July, 2017 / Published : 31st August, 2017

Abstract

Context: Pediatricians are very often the only health professionals whom children visit. Children less than 3 years of age are not seen routinely by the dentist and are at risk of developing dental caries. Pediatricians who see children from birth as a part of well-baby visit program are better placed to educate the parents about early oral preventive health care. Thus one of the important factors for the success of preventive dentistry and comprehensive dental care for children involves knowledge, awareness of importance of Primary teeth and also the attitude of these professionals towards these baby teeth. Aim: To assess the knowledge and awareness of Primary teeth amongst Pediatricians. And to assess the attitude towards these teeth. Settings and design: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey conducted among Pediatricians practicing in Bengaluru city and Bengaluru rural. Statistical test: Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test for comparison between the groups. Results: A total of 106 practicing Pediatricians participated in our study. Most of the Pediatricians in our study had good attitude towards the Primary teethcare but had moderate knowledge of Primary teeth and their importance. Conclusions: The results of our survey indicates that Pediatricians lack a good knowledge of Primary teeth and their importance. As familiarity and good knowledge of Primary teeth helps in promoting better care of these teeth suggesting continuing dental education programs for Pediatricians, interactions between the medical and dental societies, improvement in the curriculum of Paediatric courses including knowledge of Primary teeth and oral care of children.