Knowledge and Awareness of the Link between periodontitis and systemic diseases among Iraqi medical doctors

Periodontitis has been shown to be a risk factor for systemic diseases, particularly diabetes mellites, and cardiovascular diseases. Hence, the medical practitioners should have sufficient knowledge regarding the link between periodontal disease and different systemic diseases and the adverse effect of periodontal diseases on the outcomes and prognosis of systemic diseases. The aim was to determine the extent of awareness of internal medicine specialists and general medical practitioners regarding the association between periodontal diseases and systemic diseases. Electronic questionnaire were disseminated among Iraqi medical doctors. These questionnaires were composed of general questions about the doctors, awareness of periodontal diseases. And awareness of the link between periodontitis and other systemic diseases. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared test were used to analyze the collected data. Eighty-six medical doctors participated in this survey from various hospitals across Iraq. 84.8% of the participants were aware of the existed relationship between oral health and general health. Most of the participants from physicians referred their patients for dental checkup as part of their management plan of the diseases the patients have. However, around 39% of the specialized medical doctors were not aware of the positive impact of treating periodontitis on glycemic control. In addition, there is a little awareness regarding the spread of pathogenic bacteria to other parts of the body. As a conclusion, most of the participants in our study had a considerable amount of knowledge about periodontal diseases. However, it is important to stress the value of taking a detailed periodontal history and screening patients for periodontal problems. Moreover, it is recommended to increase medical doctors’ awareness regarding the oral bacterial dissemination and the positive impact of periodontal treatment on systemic diseases.