Awareness and Performance of Dentists and General Practitioners Regarding Dry Mouth Publisher



Hashemipour MA ; Saeedi G ; Afshari Z ; Nassab ARG
Source: Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology Published:2025

Abstract

Background: The aim was to investigate the knowledge and performance of dentists and general practitioners in Kerman City concerning dry mouth in 2023. Methods: This analytical and cross-sectional study examined 305 physicians. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher that included personal questions such as age, sex, weekly working hours, and work experience, as well as general questions and questions related to dry mouth. The data were analyzed using Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests, t-tests, Chi-square test, and ANOVA in SPSS 21 software. Results: Of the participants, 108 were men and 197 were women. Moreover, 94 participants were physicians, and 211 were dentists. The study showed that 53.8% of the participants had encountered a person complaining of dry mouth, and according to 72.6% of the participants, a dry mouth retraining course was required. The participants’ average knowledge score was 21.45 ± 3.21 out of 32, and their average performance score was 32.24 ± 4.52 out of 55. There was a significant relationship between age and performance, with younger participants performing better (P = 0.01). However, no significant relationship was observed between working hours per week, gender, field of study, and year of graduation with performance (P = 0.31, P = 0.14, P = 0.09, P = 0.06, respectively). Conclusion: The dentists’ and general practitioners’ knowledge and performance regarding dry mouth were evaluated to be at a moderate level. Determining and continuing necessary strategies to improve physicians’ level of knowledge and performance, as well as examining the economic losses caused by such apparently insignificant oral problems, will play an important role in reducing the occurrence of these problems and their consequences. © 2025 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.