Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease: awareness and practice among doctors working in public general out-patient clinics in Kowloon West Cluster of Hong Kong

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontitis are very common and they interact with each other bidirectionally. This survey studied public primary care doctors on their awareness of this bidirectional relationship and their corresponding practice. METHODS: All Family Medicine doctors in Kowloon West Cluster, Hospital Authority were invited to a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Results were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight questionnaires were sent out, 143 were returned (response rate 85.1%). One hundred forty valid questionnaires were analyzed. Ninety-two percent of participants were aware of a relationship between DM and periodontal disease and this awareness was not associated with their years of experience, training status and personal oral health behavior. Ninety percent knew the effect of poor DM control on periodontal disease but only 76% were aware of the reverse effect of periodontal disease on DM. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002, Related-samples Sign Test). In clinical practice on DM patients, only 5.7% asked dental history often (defined as 50% patients or above), 7.1% examined their mouths often and 12.1% recommended them to see dentist often. Logistic regression showed that awareness factors had no association with periodontology related clinical practice whereas clinical experience, being a Family Medicine specialist and personal interdental cleaning habit were linked with more positive practice. CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of doctors in the study were aware of the relationship between DM and periodontal disease. However, this did not appear to influence their practice. Further measures among doctors and patients to promote comprehensive management of DM and periodontal disease should be explored. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12875-018-0887-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.