Inter-disciplinary Gap between Medicine and Dentistry: Referral Pattern, and Attitude of Physicians towards Oral Medicine in Yazd Province

Background and Aim: Oral health neglect could be an indicator of more serious mistakes in medicine.This study was conducted to assess the referral pattern and attitude of physicians towards oral medicine specialty, and their performance in dealing with oral lesions.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, validated questionnaires were administered among 180 medical practitioners with different specialties working in Yazd, Iran.The questions were about the referral pattern, attitude towards oral medicine specialty, and their performance in dealing with oral lesions.Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, paired t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation test (alpha=0.05).Results: Of all, 81.1% of the participants had at least one encounter with an oral lesion.One hundred respondents (82.6%) were aware of oral medicine as an independent specialty.The most referred cases were oral lesions in pregnant women (59%), followed by oral ulcers, and red-white lesions (54.1%).The mean score of referral pattern had no significant association with specialty, gender, age, experience, and workplace, but the highest score was acquired by surgeons.The difference in attitude based on specialty was significant (P=0.02), and the highest score was acquired by ENT specialists.Males had a significantly more positive attitude towards oral medicine specialists.There was a significant positive correlation between practice and attitude (P=0.001,r=0.285).Conclusion: Considering the unfavorable attitude and poor practice of medical specialists, it is time to reiterate and enhance the knowledge of physicians about oral medicine specialty.