Awareness of Specialties of Dentistry among Medical Trainees and Teaching Faculty of Medical College in the Central West India

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was, to assess and create awareness of specialties of dentistry among medical trainees and teaching faculty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Printed and validated questionnaires were given personally to a total sample of 180 patients, including 60 interns, 40 postgraduate (PG) trainees and 80 teaching staff of Government Medical College. Their responses were collected and the results were tabulated using Micro-Soft Excel 2010. Data obtained was analyzed using the GraphPad Prism 7 statistical software. To compare the responses between the study groups a Pearson's Chi-square test was used. RESULTS: About 96.11% of the sample replied that they are not aware of the different specialties of dentistry and 89.44% of the sample refers their patients to the general dentist without knowing the specialty. About 70% of the interns marked orthodontics as a specialty dealing with fractures of the jaw, whereas 82.5% of the PGs and 95% of the faculty advised referral of the fracture mandible case to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. Percentage of correct response for interns, PGS and staff, was 53.33%, 78.75%, and 92.34%, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSION: A large number of interns are not aware of the differences among the branches in Dentistry, specifically between orthodontics, oral-maxillofacial surgery, community dentistry, and Pedodontics. Many medical doctors have misbelief that all of their dental-related issues can be solved by the general dental practitioner. It is the present need to spread the awareness among the medical trainees and doctors about different subspecialties of dentistry to ensure proper referral practices of the dental patients they come across.