Spanish Paediatricians’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Oral Health of Children under 6 Years of Age: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a prevalent chronic pathology, and it has a negative impact on the oral and general health of the child patient. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Spanish paediatricians regarding early childhood caries according to the professiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-08, Vol.19 (15), p.9550
Main Authors: Martínez-Beneyto, Yolanda, Navarrete-García, Celia, Serna-Muñoz, Clara, Ausina-Márquez, Veronica, Poza-Pascual, Andrea, Expósito-Delgado, Antonio Javier, Vicente, Ascensión, Ortiz-Ruiz, Antonio J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Attitudes
Biofilms
Carbohydrates
Chi-square test
Children
Children & youth
Cross-sectional studies
Dental caries
Dental enamel
Dentists
Dentition
Disease prevention
Enamel
Etiology
Fluorides
Health care
Hygiene
Infectious diseases
Knowledge
Lesions
Oral hygiene
Pediatrics
Professionals
Public health
Quality of life
Questionnaires
Sociodemographics
Teeth
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Summary:Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a prevalent chronic pathology, and it has a negative impact on the oral and general health of the child patient. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Spanish paediatricians regarding early childhood caries according to the professional’s years of experience. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted by Spanish paediatricians via WhatsApp and e-mails from January to April 2021. Data were analysed using Chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test and Cramer’s V test. Results: There were a total of 359 participants. Most respondents were women (81.3%) with up to 10 years of professional experience (31.2%) in primary health care and public health. In most cases, participants had an excellent knowledge of primary dentition (90.8%), but they ignored (56%) when the first visit to the dentist should occur. Regarding the aetiological factors of caries, oral hygiene and prevention, a lower rate of knowledge was observed. The majority of participants (80.8%) were not able to identify white spot lesions and enamel defects (76%). They considered that their knowledge in oral health was deficient, highlighting the need to increase their training. Less experienced paediatricians were found to have higher success rates. Conclusions: The level of knowledge and attitudes regarding early childhood caries of the evaluated paediatricians should be improved. Paediatricians had difficulties in identifying early caries lesions and enamel defects. Nevertheless, a higher level of knowledge and positive attitudes towards dental caries has been detected among paediatricians with fewer years of professional experience.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph19159550