Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, PMS College of Dental Science and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Annoor Dental College, Ernakulam, Kerala, India.
J Indian Soc Pedod Prev Dent. 2023 Jul-Sep;41(3):181-189. doi: 10.4103/jisppd.jisppd_226_23.
Pediatric dentists should play an essential role in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening, referral, and management of their child patients. However, few studies have investigated pediatric dentists' knowledge, attitude, and practice aspects regarding different domains of pediatric OSA.
This cross-sectional survey aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice aspects of different domains of pediatric OSA among pediatric dentists from Kerala.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in Kerala. The sample frame consisted of 163 dentists, and the minimum required was 115. Ethical approval was obtained before starting the study.
An invitation E-mail explaining the purpose of the study with a survey link was sent to the pediatric dentists from Kerala (n = 163). Nonrespondents were contacted at timely intervals.
Categorical and quantitative variables were expressed as frequency (percentage) and mean ± standard deviation, respectively. Chi-square test was used to find an association between categorical variables. Statistical analysis was performed using a statistical software package, SPSS, version 20.0.
This cross-sectional study showed that pediatric dentists in Kerala have a moderate-to-good level of knowledge, along with a positive attitude toward different domains of pediatric OSA, but lag behind in the practice aspects. Hence, they are required to direct themselves toward continuing dental education programs in order to boost their routine practice. For this, steps must be taken to ensure proper networking of the practitioners and amendments in the dental billing system similar to the medical counterpart.
儿科牙医应在儿童阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）的筛查、转诊和管理中发挥重要作用。然而，很少有研究调查过儿科牙医在儿科 OSA 的不同领域的知识、态度和实践方面。
本横断面调查旨在评估喀拉拉邦儿科牙医对儿科 OSA 不同领域的知识、态度和实践方面的了解。
本横断面研究在喀拉拉邦进行。样本框架包括 163 名牙医，最低要求为 115 名。在开始研究之前获得了伦理批准。
向喀拉拉邦的儿科牙医发送了一封带有调查链接的电子邮件，解释了研究的目的（n = 163）。非回复者在适当的时间间隔内被联系。
分类和定量变量分别表示为频率（百分比）和平均值 ±标准差。卡方检验用于发现分类变量之间的关联。使用统计软件包 SPSS 版本 20.0 进行统计分析。
本横断面研究表明，喀拉拉邦的儿科牙医在儿科 OSA 的不同领域具有中等至良好的知识水平，对其持积极态度，但在实践方面落后。因此，他们需要将自己的方向转向继续牙科教育计划，以提高他们的常规实践。为此，必须采取措施确保从业者的适当联网，并对牙科计费系统进行类似医学方面的修订。
