Knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals toward the periodontal-systemic disease relationship: a cross-sectional study.
- 1Department of Periodontology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry, India.
- 2Department of Orthodontics, Vinayaka Mission's Sankarachariyar Dental College, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.
- 3Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract
Background
Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that has been increasingly associated with systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, respiratory diseases, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Medical professionals play a critical role in early identification and referral; however, awareness of periodontal-systemic interactions remains variable.Aim
To assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals regarding the relationship between periodontal disease and systemic health.Materials and methods
A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 380 medical professionals across India, including interns, postgraduate students, practitioners, and faculty. A structured, pre-tested questionnaire was distributed electronically using Google Forms. Responses were scored using a Likert scale, and composite awareness scores were calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, associations between categorical variables were assessed using the chi-square test, and differences in mean awareness scores among groups were evaluated using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results
Although 90.5% of participants reported referring patients to dentists, only 1.1% did so based on knowledge of periodontal-systemic associations. Awareness of clinical symptoms was high (86.6%), with gingival bleeding being the most commonly identified sign (33.4%). ANOVA revealed significant differences in awareness scores among professional groups (p < 0.05). Government practitioners demonstrated significantly higher awareness than interns regarding diabetes mellitus and adverse pregnancy outcomes, while medical faculty demonstrated significantly higher awareness than interns regarding PCOS.Conclusion
A significant knowledge gap exists among medical professionals regarding periodontal-systemic relationships. Integrating oral health education into medical curricula and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration may improve awareness, referral practices, and patient care outcomes.
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BibTeX
@article{ramkumar2026knowledge,
title = {{Knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals toward the periodontal-systemic disease relationship: a cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Narayane Ramkumar and Hanumanth Sankar and Premalatha T},
journal = {Frontiers in oral health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/froh.2026.1931494},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898901},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals toward the periodontal-systemic disease relationship: a cross-sectional study.
AU - Narayane Ramkumar
AU - Hanumanth Sankar
AU - Premalatha T
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Frontiers in oral health
DO - 10.3389/froh.2026.1931494
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42898901
AB - Background Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that has been increasingly associated with systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, respiratory diseases, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Medical professionals play a critical role in early identification and referral; however, awareness of periodontal-systemic interactions remains variable.Aim To assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals regarding the relationship between periodontal disease and systemic health.Materials and methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 380 medical professionals across India, including interns, postgraduate students, practitioners, and faculty. A structured, pre-tested questionnaire was distributed electronically using Google Forms. Responses were scored using a Likert scale, and composite awareness scores were calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, associations between categorical variables were assessed using the chi-square test, and differences in mean awareness scores among groups were evaluated using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post-hoc test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results Although 90.5% of participants reported referring patients to dentists, only 1.1% did so based on knowledge of periodontal-systemic associations. Awareness of clinical symptoms was high (86.6%), with gingival bleeding being the most commonly identified sign (33.4%). ANOVA revealed significant differences in awareness scores among professional groups (p < 0.05). Government practitioners demonstrated significantly higher awareness than interns regarding diabetes mellitus and adverse pregnancy outcomes, while medical faculty demonstrated significantly higher awareness than interns regarding PCOS.Conclusion A significant knowledge gap exists among medical professionals regarding periodontal-systemic relationships. Integrating oral health education into medical curricula and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration may improve awareness, referral practices, and patient care outcomes.
SN - 2673-4842
ER -