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Awareness and practices of general practitioners towards the oral‐systemic disease relationship: A regionwide survey in France
Author(s) -
Dubar Marie,
Delatre Vincent,
Moutier Cassandre,
Sy Kadiatou,
Agossa Kevimy
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/jep.13343
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , disease , oral health , periodontitis , periodontal disease , computer assisted web interviewing , dentistry , marketing , business
Rationale, aim, and objective “Periodontal medicine” is based on evidence of interactions between periodontal disease and overall health. The aim of the present study was to assess awareness of oral‐systemic disease relationship among French general practitioners (GPs) and clarify how this influences their practices in a wider effort to better integrate oral health concerns into global health care delivery. Method GPs registered in the north of France were invited to complete an online self‐administered questionnaire through local divisions of the French Medical Board. The questionnaire was divided into four sections: socio‐demographic aspects, knowledge, practices, and an overview. Results The questionnaire was completed by 253 GPs. Among these, 75% were aware of the association between periodontitis (PD) and diabetes, and 53% to 59% were aware of the impact of PD on cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, and respiratory infections. Few GPs identified PD as a possible risk factor of rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer disease (35.18% and <15%, respectively); 74.31% of GPs reported never asking their patients about their periodontal health. However, a personal history of PD and professional experiences seem to influence the medical practices of GPs to include oral examination. GPs largely self‐rated their knowledge of the oral‐systemic disease connection as being insufficient and were favourable to completing an up‐to‐date training course (86.56%). Conclusion French GPs' knowledge about the association of PD with systemic diseases seems to be fair, but discrepancies in their daily clinical routine were found. Promisingly, a positive attitude was observed towards improving their knowledge of oral‐systemic diseases link. These results indicate the importance to reinforce collaboration between medical doctors and oral health care specialists.