Evaluation of the knowledge and awareness of pediatricians about the early childhood caries

Background and aims: Since pediatricians are the first group of medical staff who has contact with children and parents, they can play a significant role with early detection of caries lesions and referring the patient to a dentist or pediatric dental specialists to prevent the future possible complications. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of pediatricians at Yazd city about the earlyonset tooth decay in the children in 2016. Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study 53 pediatricians who worked at Yazd in 2016 were included. Data were collected by valid and reliable questionnaires. The questionnaires were included two parts: demographic Information and the knowledge questions. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and T-test while α=0.05. Results: Of 53 pediatricians (mean age 34.6 ± 9.49), 36 ones (67.9%) were male and 17(32.1%) were female. The mean value of pediatricians’ knowledge in this regard was recorded as 19.71±3.39. The mean value of pediatricians’ knowledge was no statistically significant according to the demographic factor like age (P-value=0.479), the gender (P-value=0.560), and the previous professional experience (Pvalue=0.749(. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study pediatricians’ knowledge about the early-onset tooth decay in the children at Yazd should be inceased.