119 - Pediatric Medicine Residents Knowledge of Oral Health Recommendations

Purpose: To assess pediatric medicine residents’ knowledge of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) Oral Health Policies and Recommendations, and how their knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes affects their practice.

Methods: A survey consisting of 33 questions was sent via SurveyMonkey to 229 pediatric medicine residents within NYC Health + Hospitals.  The questions addressed oral health knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and demographics.  The study was approved by Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Institutional Review Board.  The data was collected over a 10-week period and analyzed according to accepted statistical methodology.

Results: Of the 229 surveys sent, 104 (45%) were completed.  Fifty-three percent (N=55) of respondents received no oral health training during residency.  The knowledge section average was 53% with no statistical significant difference between residents by year or hospital.  Residents cited lack of time, education, and clinical skills as the top 3 reasons preventing them from oral health management during well-child visits.  Despite this, most residents still performed oral-health risk assessments (Cronbach's α = 0.7831) and referred patients (70%) to dentists at every well child visit.  The majority also believed that pediatricians should be able to conduct basic oral health screenings as they felt it is within their scope of practice.    

Conclusions: Despite the crucial link between oral health and overall well-being, pediatric residents still receive limited training in this area.  While residents have low knowledge of oral health, they believe it is within their scope of practice.  Therefore, residencies should provide more oral health educational opportunities to ensure residents are well-equipped to address oral conditions.

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