Bakhurji Eman A, Al-Saif Hassan M, Al-Shehri Mohammed A, Al-Ghamdi Khalid M, Hassan Mohamed M
Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Qilwah General Hospital, Al Baha, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Dent. 2021 Mar 23;2021:6645279. doi: 10.1155/2021/6645279. eCollection 2021.
To assess dentists' practices and barriers towards infant oral healthcare (IOH) and anticipatory guidance (AG) in eastern Saudi Arabia.
A regional, cross-sectional survey was distributed to 340 (323 general dentists (GPs) and 17 pediatric dentists (PDs)) working in a governmental setting in eastern Saudi Arabia. A 23 close-ended, pilot-tested questionnaire was developed. The questionnaire asked about dentists' IOH and AG practices. A five-point Likert scale question assessed barriers interfering with AG practices. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regressions were used.
Participation rate was 98.5% (335/340). Only 18% of GPs indicated performing IOH exams, while 100% of PDs do. About 90% of GPs would see children on a first visit when they are ≥3 years old, whereas 60% of PDs reported seeing one-year-old children. Older practitioners and those performing AG were more likely to perform IOH (OR = 1.8, CI = 1.06-3.1, and OR = 3.84, CI = 1.93-7.65, resp.). The majority of respondents (94%) felt their training did not prepare them to practice AG. "Parents bringing their children for the first time for emergency or existing conditions" was cited by 99% of respondents as a barrier to performing AG.
Increasing the awareness of GPs and parents about the importance of IOH and AG is crucial in improving children's oral health. Collaboration with pediatricians for early referral of children is equally important in increasing the awareness on prevention principles.
评估沙特阿拉伯东部地区牙医在婴儿口腔保健（IOH）及预防性指导（AG）方面的执业情况和障碍。
对在沙特阿拉伯东部政府机构工作的340名牙医（323名普通牙医（GPs）和17名儿童牙医（PDs））开展了一项区域性横断面调查。设计了一份经过预测试的包含23个封闭式问题的问卷。该问卷询问了牙医的IOH和AG执业情况。一个五点李克特量表问题评估了妨碍AG执业的障碍。采用了描述性和多变量逻辑回归分析。
参与率为98.5%（335/340）。只有18%的普通牙医表示会进行IOH检查，而儿童牙医的这一比例为100%。约90%的普通牙医会在儿童首次就诊且年龄≥3岁时为其看诊，而60%的儿童牙医报告看过一岁的儿童。年长的从业者和进行AG的从业者更有可能开展IOH（分别为OR = 1.8，CI = 1.06 - 3.1，以及OR = 3.84，CI = 1.93 - 7.65）。大多数受访者（94%）认为他们所接受的培训并未让他们做好开展AG的准备。99%的受访者将“家长首次因紧急情况或已有病症带孩子前来”列为开展AG的障碍。
提高普通牙医和家长对IOH及AG重要性的认识对于改善儿童口腔健康至关重要。与儿科医生合作以便尽早转诊儿童对于提高预防原则的认识同样重要。
