Division of General Pediatrics, University of Washington and Craniofacial Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Acad Pediatr. 2009 Nov-Dec;9(6):457-61. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2009.09.016.
Pediatricians have regular opportunities to perform screening dental examinations on young children and to educate families on preventive oral health. We sought to assess pediatricians' current attitudes and practices related to oral health of children 0-3 years old.
A Periodic Survey of Fellows, focused on oral health in pediatricians' office settings, was sent to 1618 postresidency fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The response rate was 68%. More than 90% of pediatricians said that they should examine their patients' teeth for caries and educate families about preventive oral health. However, in practice, only 54% of pediatricians reported examining the teeth of more than half of their 0-3-year-old patients. Four percent of pediatricians regularly apply fluoride varnish. The most common barrier to participation in oral health-related activities in their practices was lack of training, which was cited by 41%. Less than 25% of pediatricians had received oral health education in medical school, residency, or continuing education. Most pediatricians (74%) reported that availability of dentists who accept Medicaid posed a moderate to severe barrier for 0-3-year-old Medicaid-insured patients to obtain dental care.
Pediatricians see it within their purview to educate families about preventive oral health and to assess for dental caries. However, many pediatricians reported barriers to fully implementing preventive oral health activities into their practices. Pediatricians and dentists need to work together to improve the quality of preventive oral health care available to all young children.
儿科医生有定期为幼儿进行口腔筛查并向家庭提供预防口腔健康知识的机会。我们旨在评估儿科医生在儿童口腔健康方面的当前态度和实践。
一项针对儿科医生办公室环境中口腔健康的定期调查,发送给了美国儿科学会的 1618 名住院医师后学者。
回复率为 68%。超过 90%的儿科医生表示,他们应该检查患者的牙齿是否有龋齿,并向家庭传授预防口腔健康知识。然而,在实践中,只有 54%的儿科医生报告说他们检查了超过一半的 0-3 岁患者的牙齿。4%的儿科医生定期使用氟化物涂料。在实践中参与口腔健康相关活动的最常见障碍是缺乏培训,有 41%的人提到了这一点。不到 25%的儿科医生在医学院、住院医师培训或继续教育中接受过口腔健康教育。大多数儿科医生(74%)报告说,接受医疗补助的牙医的可用性对 0-3 岁有医疗补助保险的患者获得牙科护理构成了中度至严重障碍。
儿科医生认为,向家庭传授预防口腔健康知识并评估龋齿状况是他们的职责所在。然而,许多儿科医生报告说,在将预防口腔健康活动全面纳入实践方面存在障碍。儿科医生和牙医需要共同努力,提高所有幼儿可获得的预防口腔保健的质量。