Early Childhood Caries-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice: Discordance between Pediatricians and Dentists toward Medical Office-Based Prevention in Taiwan

Shinechimeg Dima, Wei-Jen Chang, Jung-Wei Chen and Nai-Chia Teng
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Shinechimeg Dima: School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan
Wei-Jen Chang: School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan
Jung-Wei Chen: School of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
Nai-Chia Teng: School of Dentistry, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding early childhood caries (ECC) prevention and implementation of medical setting-based caries prevention among pediatricians and dentists in Taiwan. Data were collected from currently practicing pediatricians and general and pediatric dentists using self-administered questionnaires. A total of 301 questionnaires were completed by the pediatricians ( n = 105), general dentists ( n = 117), and pediatric dentists ( n = 79). The pediatric dentists obtained significantly higher knowledge and practice scores than the general dentists and pediatricians ( p < 0.0001). The pediatricians’ attitude score related to engaging physicians in medical office-based caries prevention was significantly higher than the attitude scores of the general and pediatric dentists ( p < 0.05). A Spearman rank correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between knowledge and practice among the general dentists (r s = 0.271, p < 0.01) and pediatricians (r s = 0.262, p < 0.01). The correlation between knowledge and attitude among the pediatricians was significantly positive (r s = 0.242, p < 0.05). Attitude and practice among the pediatricians were significantly positively correlated (r s = 0.271, p < 0.01). Pediatricians lacked ECC-related knowledge; however, they had a more positive attitude toward medical office-based prevention when they had a higher level of knowledge. Oral health-related education for pediatricians is necessary if such medical office-based caries prevention programs are to be implemented in Taiwan.

Keywords: early childhood caries; knowledge; attitude and practice; medical office-based prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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