Dataset Information

Physicians' awareness of oral-systemic links and its association with physician-reported patient referral to dentists.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Physicians promote oral health by screening for oral pathologies, providing emergency help, and referring patients to dentists. The literature consistently reports a robust association between periodontal disease and systemic diseases. However, it is not fully known if physicians in Saudi Arabia are aware of the oral-systemic disease links. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate physicians' awareness of the oral-systemic disease links and their association with patients' referral to dentists and patients' access to oral care.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted (June 2019-January 2020) on physicians working in private and public hospitals in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The physicians (n = 333) responded to a paper-based self-administered and pilot-tested questionnaire which inquired about their awareness of oral-systemic disease links and patient referral to dentists. The reliability of items of oral-systemic disease links was evaluated by calculating Cronbach's alpha (0.84).

Results

Most participants (92.8%) agreed/strongly agreed that oral health is associated with systemic health. Half of the sample (50.8%) referred patients to dentists during the last month. Almost 80.5% believed that more patients will be referred to the dentists because of their awareness of the oral-systemic disease links and 84% believed that more patients will access oral care services if patients were aware of the oral-systemic disease links. The participants who referred patients to the dentists during the last month (P = 0.038), believed that more patients will be referred (P = 0.001), and believed that more patients will access oral care (P = 0.003) demonstrated significantly higher oral-systemic disease links awareness score. The adjusted model showed patients' referral to dentist (OR = 1.96.10, P = 0.006) and believing in more patients accessing oral care (OR = 2.05, P = 0.044) were associated with significantly increased awareness of the oral-systemic disease links.

Conclusion

Most physicians in the study were aware of the oral-systemic disease links. Increased awareness of the oral-systemic disease links was significantly associated with the referral of patients to dentists and belief in improved patients' access to oral care services.

SUBMITTER: Al-Habib F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9584431 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Physicians' awareness of oral-systemic links and its association with physician-reported patient referral to dentists.

Al-Habib Fatimah F Al Abdulbaqi Fatimah F Alibrahim Hala H Alhamdan Yasmin Y Nazir Muhammad Ashraf MA AlHumaid Jehan J

PloS one 20221020 10

<h4>Introduction</h4>Physicians promote oral health by screening for oral pathologies, providing emergency help, and referring patients to dentists. The literature consistently reports a robust association between periodontal disease and systemic diseases. However, it is not fully known if physicians in Saudi Arabia are aware of the oral-systemic disease links. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate physicians' awareness of the oral-systemic disease links and their association with patients' ref ...[more]

PMID: 36264959

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Project description:BackgroundStrong evidence supports the association between periodontitis and certain systemic diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the knowledge of a group of physicians and dentists in Serbia regarding this topic and assess their professional actions to prevent and control both periodontal and systemic diseases.MethodsAn anonymous self-administered structured questionnaire was sent to the available e-mail addresses of randomly selected healthcare providers working in Serbia. According to the inclusion criteria, general practitioners, specialists, general dentists, and specialists working in government hospitals and private practices in various cities in Serbia were recruited in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 17 questions divided into three parts. The first part recorded the sociodemographic characteristics of participants, the second part included questions about the clinical manifestation and etiology of periodontitis, as well as knowledge of the association between periodontitis and systemic diseases, and the third part included questions about professional procedures for the prevention and control of periodontitis and systemic diseases.ResultsA total of 1301 health participants, 739 (57.8%) physicians and 562 (43.2%) dentists, were included in this cross-sectional study. Most respondents (94.7%) were aware of the association between periodontitis and general health. The highest percentage of respondents associated diabetes mellitus and periodontitis. Factors significantly associated with higher knowledge were female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-2.52; p < 0.001) and dental profession (OR, 5.86; 95% CI], 4.03-8.53; p < 0.001). Participants who had higher knowledge score were more likely to ask their patients about gum/systematic health (p < 0.001) and refer them to dentists/physicians (p < 0.001).ConclusionsIt was concluded that compared to the group of dentists, the group of physicians had less knowledge of the relationship between periodontitis and systemic diseases. The female gender was significantly associated with better knowledge. A better understanding of this topic is associated with better clinical practice.

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Project description:IntroductionTobacco products are well-known as a major risk factor for systemic and oral diseases. Dentists may play an important role in the prevention and progression of oral problems related to smoking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of awareness about the poor oral health effects of tobacco products and the role of dentists in smoking cessation among dental patients.MethodsA survey containing 40 questions was prepared, and patients seeking dental treatment between June and October 2019 at the School of Dentistry, Ege University, were asked to participate. The survey included demographic variables in the first part, habits of using tobacco products in the second part, relations between smoking and oral health, and the possible role of dentists in smoking cessation in the last part. Data were tested statistically by Mann Whitney U and chi-squared tests.ResultsA total of 501 patients participated in the survey; more than half of the participants were non-smokers (63.7%). Cigarettes (95.06%), hookah (7.69%), e-cigarettes (2.75%), and cigars (1.65%) were the most frequently consumed tobacco products. The biggest obstacle to quitting smoking was 'having smoker friends'. The rate of non-smokers (41.4%) agreeing that smoking is related to periodontal diseases was more than that of smokers (32.4%) (p<0.05). The most known side effect of tobacco products was halitosis (81.6%). Half of the respondents (46.7%) did not know about dentists' role in helping them quit smoking. The rate of participants previously recommended by a dentist to quit smoking was only 36%.ConclusionsThe aesthetic and social consequences of using tobacco products are well known, but smokers are substantially less aware than non-smokers of the relationship between tobacco products and oral diseases. The present findings suggest that dentists should inform their patients about the detrimental effects of tobacco products and play an active role in advising them to quit.

Project description:PurposeAccurately tracking health-related quality-of-life after radical prostatectomy is critical to counseling patients and improving technique. Physicians consistently overestimate functional recovery. We measured concordance between surgeon-assessed and patient-reported outcomes and evaluated a novel method to provide feedback to surgeons.Materials and methodsMen treated with radical prostatectomy self-completed the International Index of Erectile Function-6 questionnaire at each postoperative visit. Separately, physicians graded sexual function on a 5-point scale. International Index of Erectile Function -6 score<22 and grade ≥3 defined patient-reported and physician-assessed erectile dysfunction (ED), respectively. Feedback on concordance was given to physicians starting in May 2013 with the implementation of the Amplio feedback system. Chi-square tests were used to assess agreement proportions and linear regression to evaluate changes in agreement after implementation.ResultsFrom 2009 to 2015, 3,053 men completed at least 1 postprostatectomy questionnaire and had a concurrent independent physician-reported outcome. Prior to implementation of feedback in 2013, patients and physicians were consistent as to ED 83% of the time; in 10% of cases, physicians overestimated function; in 7% of cases, physicians, but not patients reported ED. Agreement increased after implementation of feedback but this was not statistically significant, likely owing to a ceiling effect. Supporting this hypothesis, increase in agreement postfeedback was greater during late follow-up (≥12mo), where baseline agreement was lower compared to earlier follow-up.ConclusionsAgreement was higher than expected at baseline; implementation of feedback regarding discrepancies between patient-reported and physician-assessed outcomes did not further improve agreement significantly. Our observed high rate of agreement may be partly attributed to our institutional practice of systematically capturing patient-reported outcomes as part of normal clinical care.

Dataset Information

Physicians' awareness of oral-systemic links and its association with physician-reported patient referral to dentists.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Physicians' awareness of oral-systemic links and its association with physician-reported patient referral to dentists.

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