A collaborative future: Perspectives of Sri Lankan government medical practitioners’ on dental training and professional standards

As modern medicine increasingly embraces interprofessional strategies to address complex health issues, cultivating effective relationships among healthcare professionals becomes essential. A thorough understanding of each other’s training and competencies is crucial for fostering seamless collaboration. In Sri Lanka, where the roles of dental surgeons are expanding, identifying barriers to interprofessional collaboration is particularly timely. This study aims to assess the knowledge and perceptions of medical practitioners working in the government sector, regarding dental education, job profiles, and the professionalism of dental surgeons in Sri Lanka, highlighting gaps that hinder effective collaboration in government hospitals. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical practitioners and consultants within the Sri Lankan government sector. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed in both hard copy and digital formats. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, employing descriptive statistics, Independent Samples T-test, and One-way ANOVA, with significance set at p ≤ 0.05. A total of 426 responses were collected, with 53.1% of participants identifying as male (male-to-female ratio 1.13:1). The majority of respondents were aged 25-34 and primarily comprised medical officers (n = 198) from teaching hospitals (n = 236). Responses represented all provinces and hospital categories. Among medical practitioners, 90% demonstrated fair to poor knowledge of dental licensing and education, while 88% exhibited similar knowledge regarding dental specialties and referral processes. The study evaluates medical practitioners’ perceptions of dental surgeons’ professionalism through a Likert scale questionnaire. The overall perception of dental surgeons’ professionalism yielded a mean score of 2.62, with punctuality, excellence, and communication scoring below 2.40, indicating a need for improvement.