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Spanish Paediatricians' Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Oral Health of Children under 6 Years of Age: A
Yolanda Martínez-Beneyto1, Celia Navarrete-García2, Clara Serna-Muñoz3,4
1Department of Dermatology, Stomatology and Radiology, Faculty of Medicine-Dentistry, Institute of Biomedical Research, IMIB, University of Murcia, 30008 Murcia, Spain.
Background:
Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a prevalent chronic pathology, and it has a negative impact on the oral and general health of the child patient.
Aim:
To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Spanish paediatricians regarding early childhood caries according to the professional's years of experience.
Material And Methods:
A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted by Spanish paediatricians via WhatsApp and e-mails from January to April 2021. Data were analysed using Chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test and Cramer's V test.
Results:
There were a total of 359 participants. Most respondents were women (81.3%) with up to 10 years of professional experience (31.2%) in primary health care and public health. In most cases, participants had an excellent knowledge of primary dentition (90.8%), but they ignored (56%) when the first visit to the dentist should occur. Regarding the aetiological factors of caries, oral hygiene and prevention, a lower rate of knowledge was observed. The majority of participants (80.8%) were not able to identify white spot lesions and enamel defects (76%). They considered that their knowledge in oral health was deficient, highlighting the need to increase their training. Less experienced paediatricians were found to have higher success rates.
Conclusions:
The level of knowledge and attitudes regarding early childhood caries of the evaluated paediatricians should be improved. Paediatricians had difficulties in identifying early caries lesions and enamel defects. Nevertheless, a higher level of knowledge and positive attitudes towards dental caries has been detected among paediatricians with fewer years of professional experience.
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