Attitudes toward and knowledge of collaboration of dental and medical practice among medical students in Southern India: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey

Abstract

Background: Enhancing oral health care services provided through inter-professional collaboration between medical and dental practitioner is important, and even essential. The purpose of this study is to assess the attitude toward and knowledge of medical-dental collaborative practice among medical students attending colleges in Southern India. Methods: A cross sectional questionnaire survey was conducted by inviting 900 medical students and interns of medical colleges in coastal South India with prior information and permission. The questionnaire consisted of 11 questions to assess attitude toward and knowledge of medical-dental collaborative practice and was distributed in pen & paper format to participants who agreed to take part in the study. Chi square test was employed for data analysis. The responses obtained were correlated with age, gender and year of study of participants using Pearson’s correlation test Results: Most of the students agreed that oral health was an integral part of systemic health, however participants disagreed on attending compulsory rotation in dentistry at a statistically significant level (p<0.05), moreover participants did not agree with physicians having an active role in motivating their patients for regular dental check-up. 82% of the medical students believe that dental check-up should be included in health packages under health insurance. A statistically significant (p<0.05) difference was observed among 3 rd year & 4 th year students and interns and also it was found that female students provided more positive responses towards medical-dental collaboration. Conclusions: Even though medical students showed fairly positive attitudes and knowledge towards dentistry, the analysis within the study groups showed that knowledge and attitudes regarding the collaborative practice worsened over the academic years among the medical students.