Knowledge and Awareness of Oral Medicine Specialty among the Medical Practitioners in Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, Nagpur

Background: Medicine and dentistry need to go hand in hand for holistic betterment of a patient. However, in India even today the medical practitioners are unaware of a very important specialty of dentistry which is Oral Medicine and Radiology which deals with oral manifestations of systemic diseases. Aim: Therefore, this study was conducted to assess and increase their awareness. Study Design: A validated questionnaire consisting of closed ended questions was sent to 100 medical practitioners and they were asked to tick the most appropriate response. Results: Among the 100 doctors, 55% were aware of the specialty and the remaining 45% were not aware of the specialty in dentistry. It was also observed that even though the medical practitioners encountered oral medicine specialty cases like Temporo-mandibular joint disorders, orofacial pain, premalignant lesion etc. they referred them elsewhere due to lack of awareness. Conclusion: There is a pressing the need to improve the coordination between medical and dental practitioners.