Awareness, Knowledge and Practice Patterns of Oral Health and Hygiene among Speech-Language Pathologists in India

Individuals with communication and swallowing disorders often exhibit poor oral health and hygiene (OHH), that can lead to further complications. OHH assessment and management is a part of scope of practice of Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs). The study aims to determine the level of awareness, knowledge and practice patterns of OHH amongst the SLPs in India. A questionnaire with 20-item and three sections was developed to assess the awareness and knowledge regarding OHH among SLPs. A total of 162 participants responded to the survey. 93.2% participants were aware of the importance of OHH, however 42.6% participants did not feel confident enough to assess the same. A majority (82.7%) agreed that poor OHH can lead to different health complications. 38.8% of the participants responded that they assessed oral health only sometimes and 54.3% reported that they never used any standard screening/assessment tools to assess oral health. Only a very small percentage of participants (28.65%) counselled the patients for maintenance of oral hygiene and more than 40% never recommended appropriate OHH practices during management. Though a vast majority were aware of the importance of OHH and consequences of poor OHH, they did not feel confident and consequently did not incorporate OHH during clinical practice. Though the scope of SLP includes oral care assessment and management, Indian SLPs were not practicing this. Hence, the clinical and academic curriculum should focus on topics pertaining to oral health assessment and management, which will improve the quality-of-service delivery of the SLPs.