Dentists’ attitude and perceived educational barriers to oral health promotion among patients with disabilities

BACKGROUND and AIM: Individuals with disability usually suffer from complex oral problems and marked physical limitations, and therefore need special dental care. The dentists’ attitude and perceived educational barriers for oral health promotion among the individuals with disabilities were evaluated in the present study. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 193 dentists participating in the 54th International Congress and Exhibition of Iranian Dental Association in 2014 were invited to complete a valid and reliable questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions on attitude, satisfaction with training courses, perceived barriers to learn about oral health of patients with disabilities, age, gender, office location (city), and experience of treating patients with disabilities. The results were analyzed in SPSS software using linear regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 177 questionnaires were collected. The mean age of the participants was 35.5 (10.1) years, and 53.8% of the participants were men. The mean score of attitude and perceived barriers was 27 out of 52, and 13.6 out of 24, respectively. Dentists were not satisfied with education they had received. The most important barrier was the shortage of experts for training (52.1%). The linear regression model controlling the confounders revealed a better attitude among dentists with higher satisfaction with their academic education and among those perceiving less barriers in receiving the related academic educations. CONCLUSION: The dentists’ attitude towards the oral health promotion of patients with disabilities was not in a desirable level. The dentists satisfied with their training during academic education had a better attitude towards treating these patients, indicating the need for more extensive interactive training programs.