Background: A high proportion of Nigerian children with caries are left untreated resulting in complications. Paediatricians often provide primary care and maybe useful in improving oral health care.
Aim: To assess the oral health knowledge on dental caries and professional experience of a sample of Nigerian paediatricians.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire-based cross sectional survey of paediatricians attending the annual national conference of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria in January 2011 at Abuja, Nigeria was conducted. The questionnaire assessed knowledge on early childhood caries, oral health services provided and attitude to preventive dental services. Data analysis was done using EPI-info (version 3.5) statistical software.
Results: Of the 200 questionnaires administered, 145 were properly completed and returned (response rate of 72.5%). The respondents' gender was almost evenly distributed. Their age range was 26-77 years (mean 41.8 +/- 7.4 years). A total of 83 (57.2%) respondents reported receiving oral health education prior to this study. Over 90% of the respondents had received various dental complaints from their patients. Very few (26.2%) performed oral screening routinely although 94.2% believed that oral screening should be routinely carried out. Only 28.9% of the respondents felt adequately informed about oral health though 86.6% were willing to receive training on oral health care. Most of the respondents agreed that dental assessments and counselling should be included in routine paediatric clinical examination.
Conclusion: Paediatricians could be useful in increasing access to oral health care for Nigerian children. Hence, oral health education should be included in the training programme of Nigerian paediatricians.