Paediatricians' and Primary Care Physicians' Ability to Assess Caries Risk in Singaporean Children Aged 2 Years and...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dentistry
• Public Health
• Medical Education

Background:

• Medical visits in the first year of life often exceed dental visits.
• Physicians play a crucial role in early childhood oral health surveillance.
• Caries risk assessment (CRA) and timely dental referrals are vital for preventive care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate physicians' proficiency in performing caries risk assessment (CRA).
• To assess physicians' accuracy in making risk-based dental referrals for young children.
• To identify potential barriers or facilitators in the CRA and referral process.

Main Methods:

• A self-administered questionnaire was used.
• Participants responded to four clinical vignettes depicting children aged ≤ 2 years with varying caries risk.
• Vignettes included scenarios with and without clinical photographs to assess referral accuracy.

Main Results:

• Physicians demonstrated higher proficiency in CRA compared to making referral recommendations (p < 0.001).
• Clinical photographs did not improve CRA accuracy and, in one case, reduced it (p = 0.033).
• However, photographs significantly increased the likelihood of recommending a dental referral in a low-risk scenario (34% to 86%).

Conclusions:

• Physicians are generally proficient in identifying caries risk levels.
• Decision-making regarding the necessity of dental referrals presents a greater challenge for physicians.
• Further education and clearer guidelines may be needed to enhance physician confidence and accuracy in pediatric dental referrals.