Knowledge and Awareness of Oral Medicine Specialty among the Medical Practitioners in Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, Nagpur
Apurva Mohite Khator *
Department of oral medicine and radiology, VSPM’S dental college, Nagpur, India.
Dhwani Suchak
Department of oral medicine and radiology, VSPM’S dental college, Nagpur, India.
Simran Tahilyani
Department of oral medicine and radiology, VSPM’S dental college, Nagpur, India.
Mukta Motwani
Department of oral medicine and radiology, VSPM’S dental college, Nagpur, India.
Ankita Thakre
Department of oral medicine and radiology, VSPM’S dental college, Nagpur, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Medicine and dentistry need to go hand in hand for holistic betterment of a patient. However, in India even today the medical practitioners are unaware of a very important specialty of dentistry which is Oral Medicine and Radiology which deals with oral manifestations of systemic diseases.
Aim: Therefore, this study was conducted to assess and increase their awareness.
Study Design: A validated questionnaire consisting of closed ended questions was sent to 100 medical practitioners and they were asked to tick the most appropriate response.
Results: Among the 100 doctors, 55% were aware of the specialty and the remaining 45% were not aware of the specialty in dentistry. It was also observed that even though the medical practitioners encountered oral medicine specialty cases like Temporo-mandibular joint disorders, orofacial pain, premalignant lesion etc. they referred them elsewhere due to lack of awareness.
Conclusion: There is a pressing the need to improve the coordination between medical and dental practitioners.
Keywords: Oral medicine and radiology, medical practitioners, Temporo-mandibular joint disorders, awareness, orofacial pain, premalignant lesions.