Badrov Marija, Miskovic Martin, Glavina Ana, Tadin Antonija
Department of Restorative Dental Medicine and Endodontics, Study of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia.
Department of Oral Medicine, Study of Dental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Split, 2100 Split, Croatia.
Epidemiologia (Basel). 2025 Aug 7;6(3):43. doi: 10.3390/epidemiologia6030043.
This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and self-confidence of physicians and dentists in Croatia regarding the relationship between oral and systemic health, focusing on periodontal disease and oral manifestations of systemic diseases.
A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among physicians and dentists in Croatian primary healthcare. The questionnaire addressed six thematic domains, including demographic information, knowledge, self-assessment, and clinical practice. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed.
A total of 529 respondents were included (291 physicians and 238 dentists). The mean knowledge score for the association between periodontitis and systemic diseases was 6.8 ± 3.6 out of 15, indicating limited knowledge. For oral manifestations of systemic diseases, the mean score was 10.0 ± 3.8 out of 16, reflecting moderate proficiency. Dentists scored higher than physicians in both domains, though not significantly ( > 0.05). Routine oral mucosal examinations were reported by 89.5% of dentists and 43.0% of physicians ( ≤ 0.001). Only 21.3% of physicians correctly identified the link between periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes, compared to 58.8% of dentists. The primary barriers to effective clinical management were a lack of experience (52.7%) and inadequate education. While 68.3% of dentists felt adequately educated on oral-systemic links, only 22.7% of physicians reported the same.
Significant gaps in knowledge and confidence were observed, particularly among physicians. These findings underscore the need to integrate oral-systemic health topics into medical education and to promote interprofessional collaboration to improve patient outcomes.
本研究旨在评估克罗地亚医生和牙医关于口腔与全身健康关系的知识、态度和自信心，重点关注牙周疾病和全身疾病的口腔表现。
在克罗地亚初级医疗保健机构的医生和牙医中开展了一项基于网络的横断面调查。问卷涉及六个主题领域，包括人口统计学信息、知识、自我评估和临床实践。进行了描述性和比较性统计分析。
共纳入529名受访者（291名医生和238名牙医）。牙周炎与全身疾病关联的平均知识得分在15分中为6.8±3.6分，表明知识有限。对于全身疾病的口腔表现，平均得分在16分中为10.0±3.8分，反映出中等水平。在这两个领域中，牙医的得分均高于医生，但差异不显著（P>0.05）。89.5%的牙医和43.0%的医生报告进行常规口腔黏膜检查（P≤0.001）。只有21.3%的医生正确识别出牙周炎与不良妊娠结局之间的联系，而牙医的这一比例为58.8%。有效临床管理的主要障碍是缺乏经验（52.7%）和教育不足。虽然68.3%的牙医认为自己在口腔-全身联系方面接受了充分的教育，但只有22.7%的医生有同样的看法。
观察到知识和信心方面存在显著差距，尤其是在医生中。这些发现强调需要将口腔-全身健康主题纳入医学教育，并促进跨专业合作以改善患者结局。
