Knowledge, attitude and practices of gynecologists regarding the prevention of oral diseases in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract AIM: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of gynecologists regarding the prevention of oral diseases in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A structured, self administered, close-ended questionnaire was distributed among the randomly chosen sample of 200 gynecologists and their responses were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Nearly half of the respondents knew all the main risk factors of dental caries, gingivitis and malocclusion. An overall mean scores of 16.49 ± 5.63, 6.62 ± 1.59 and 7.13 ± 2.82, were observed for knowledge of risk factors, attitude and practices towards prevention of oral diseases respectively. Gynecologists working in the private hospitals showed signifi cantly higher mean attitude and practice scores towards prevention of oral diseases. A linear positive correlation between knowledge and attitude (r=0.11, p=0.11), knowledge and practice (r=0.07, p=0.26), instead a negative correlation between attitude and practice (r=-0.04, p=0.53) was found by a Spearman's test. CONCLUSION: Gynecologists considered in the present study showed inadequate oral health knowledge, attitude and practices towards prevention of oral diseases. However, gynecologists expressed their need for further information regarding the prevention of oral diseases.