Knowledge and practices of dentists in France regarding oral mucosal diseases: a national survey

Abstract

Introduction:One of the dental surgeon's roles is to identify, diagnose and supervise the treatment of oral pathologies (OP), and/or to refer patients to the appropriate specialists. Today, the delay in diagnosing patients with OP is very long and may impact their prognosis.Objective:We conducted a national survey of French practitioners to estimate their knowledge and practices regarding the management of these pathologies.Methods:About 15,000 dentists were contacted by email to complete a questionnaire designed to assess the diagnoses and management of OP.Results:Overall, for 560 answers (3.8%), DS did not declare any significant difficulties in diagnosing and managing any kind of pathologies. However, we were able to distinguish statistical differences among practitioners depending on the type of lesions and between the practitioners themselves. The associated factors were gender, graduation year, mode of practice and continuing education over the last 5 years. The majority of DS justified their diagnostic difficulties by the fact that they do not encounter patients with these types of pathology frequently enough, and by insufficient education.Conclusion:According to our study, it is necessary to reinforce the training and the continuing medical education of DS regarding OP, especially through the use of practical cases.