The missing piece of the body? Oral health knowledge and confidence of doctors

Introduction Many patients present to doctors with oral health conditions and it is, therefore, important that they have the knowledge and skills to give advice and signpost appropriately. Aim To ascertain the baseline knowledge and confidence of doctors in managing oral conditions and to identify topic areas for training.Design A baseline survey was conducted. Two training programmes were then delivered based on the finding of this survey, followed by a post-training survey. Setting North West London training programme for foundation year 1 (FY1) doctors and general medical practitioner (GP) trainees. Intervention The FY1 doctors had a didactic teaching session. The GP trainees had a training session combined with foundation dentists (FDs), comprised of a lecture and small, mixed group work.Main outcomes measured i) post-training confidence in managing oral conditions, answering patients' questions regarding oral health and signposting patients; ii) the most useful and relevant topics of the training for their daily practice.Results The majority of the doctors had previously received no oral health teaching. Furthermore, the majority did not feel confident at managing oral conditions or signposting patients appropriately. Common topic areas were identified where doctors wanted more oral health teaching. Conclusions FY1 and GP trainees lack knowledge and confidence with regard to the management of oral health issues and recognise that there is a need to know about oral health. This work highlights the need for structured training to equip doctors with appropriate oral health knowledge and skills.