Medical Science
Volume 25, Issue 118, December 2021
Knowledge and attitude of medical physicians and dental practitioners towards halitosis in Saudi Arabia
Tariq Wahass1♦, Hazim Alharkan1, Ali Alshamari1, Nader Alamri1, Anmar Alarnous1, Ahmad Assari2
1College of dentistry, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
2OMFS and Diagnostic Sciences department, Riyadh Elm University,
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
♦Corresponding author
College of dentistry, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
ABSTRACT
Background: Halitosis is a prevalent condition and causes a lot of embarrassment and psychological distress to individuals. The bad smell mainly arises because of protein degradation by gram-negative anaerobic bacteria which produce volatile Sulphur compounds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of dental practitioners and medical physicians towards halitosis in terms of causes, assessments, and management in Saudi Arabia. Methodology: Dentists and Medical physicians of different specializations from Saudi Arabia were invited to participate in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was designed with twenty items related to demographical and halitosis etiology, diagnosis, and therapy. The questionnaire was distributed through Online Platforms and in-person. Results: Totally, 191 (50.7%) Dentists and 186 (49.3%) Medical Physicians making it to 377 healthcare professionals participated in this study. Nearly two-thirds of the participants were of Male Gender and the majority of these participants were practicing in the Central Region of Saudi Arabia (80.6%). About 80% and 60% of Dentists and Medical Physicians respectively reported that they don’t have any diagnostic protocol for Halitosis. In addition, both Dentists (30%) and Medical physicians (50%) reported that they didn’t have adequate teaching/training regarding Halitosis during under graduation. Conclusion: We observed inadequate knowledge about Halitosis among both professionals i.e. Dentists and Medical Physicians. However, Medical Physicians had far less knowledge in certain areas. Both professionals require more training on this subject and also better inter-professional coordination and communication.
Keywords: Halitosis; Dentists; Physicians; Knowledge; Attitude;
questionnaire
Medical Science, 2021, 25(118), 3505-3514
