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Early Childhood Caries-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice: Discordance between Pediatricians and Dentists toward Medical Office-Based Prevention in Taiwan

The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding early childhood caries (ECC) prevention and implementation of medical setting-based caries prevention among pediatricians and dentists in Taiwan. Data were collected from currently practicing pediatricians and genera...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Dima, Shinechimeg, Chang, Wei-Jen, Chen, Jung-Wei, Teng, Nai-Chia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024957/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29795024
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061067
Descripción
Sumario:The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding early childhood caries (ECC) prevention and implementation of medical setting-based caries prevention among pediatricians and dentists in Taiwan. Data were collected from currently practicing pediatricians and general and pediatric dentists using self-administered questionnaires. A total of 301 questionnaires were completed by the pediatricians (n = 105), general dentists (n = 117), and pediatric dentists (n = 79). The pediatric dentists obtained significantly higher knowledge and practice scores than the general dentists and pediatricians (p < 0.0001). The pediatricians’ attitude score related to engaging physicians in medical office-based caries prevention was significantly higher than the attitude scores of the general and pediatric dentists (p < 0.05). A Spearman rank correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between knowledge and practice among the general dentists (r(s) = 0.271, p < 0.01) and pediatricians (r(s) = 0.262, p < 0.01). The correlation between knowledge and attitude among the pediatricians was significantly positive (r(s) = 0.242, p < 0.05). Attitude and practice among the pediatricians were significantly positively correlated (r(s) = 0.271, p < 0.01). Pediatricians lacked ECC-related knowledge; however, they had a more positive attitude toward medical office-based prevention when they had a higher level of knowledge. Oral health-related education for pediatricians is necessary if such medical office-based caries prevention programs are to be implemented in Taiwan.