Oral Health for Holistic Health - Medical Student's Knowledge and Attitude about Infant Oral Health

Abstract

Context: Infant oral health (IOH) is important for establishing a healthy and disease-free childhood. An attending doctor’s role, in an infant’s oral health is very pivotal as they are the first health care professionals to come in contact with the infants. Hence, it is very important for them, to have sound knowledge. However, previous studies reveal a lack of that knowledge. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge and attitude of medical students about IOH. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 medical students of final year and internship, who belonged to 7 randomly selected medical colleges of Karnataka. The questionnaire consisting of 20 validated questions and was personally distributed to the students. Their responses were collected and scored. Descriptive statistical analysis was done, and individual scores were tested using Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test’s using SPSS software. Results: The findings of the study revealed that majority of the medical students’ knowledge and attitude on IOH was fair to poor, and most of them indicated that the hours of training pertaining to dental specialty were insufficient (56%). Conclusion: This study suggests that the level of knowledge and attitude of the graduating medical participants is inadequate, which may have further implication on the IOH. It can be suggested that greater inclusion of oral health education in the medical curriculum would be beneficial.