https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5528-9153
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ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease are among the most frequently occurring conditions that have a substantial effect on the global health economy. The literature regarding medical professionals’ knowledge of the bidirectional link between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease has not been analyzed systematically. The review aimed to investigate the knowledge and understanding of physicians and specialists regarding the two-way relationship between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease and their approach to referring their patients for a dental consultation. An electronic search of PubMed and Google Scholar databases was conducted to review the studies that assessed knowledge and understanding of medical professionals regarding the relationship between diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease. Data from 13 included studies involved 4,027 participants: 3,256 primary care physicians and 771 medical specialists. Just over 50% of the medical professionals had an understanding of oral health and/or periodontal disease. Over one-third of medical professionals were ignorant of the relationship between oral health and diabetes mellitus. Only 30% reported ever referring their patients for an oral health assessment. Another key finding of the investigation was the absence of interprofessional collaborative care between medical and dental professionals while managing patients with diabetes mellitus. Medical professionals with an integrated knowledge of elementary oral health education and training could play a central role in the timely diagnosis and management of periodontal disease in patients living with diabetes mellitus.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.
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Notes on contributors
Allauddin Siddiqi
Dr Allauddin Siddiqi is a specialist periodontist and research scholar at the School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Griffith University, Gold Coast Australia. Earlier, after graduating from Pakistan, he moved to Cape Town South Africa, where he did his Postgraduate Diploma and Master degree with cum laude. Dr Siddiqi then completed two fellowships in Cranio-Maxillofacial & Oral Surgery from Germany from the International Association of Bone Research at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, and AO Cranio- Maxillofacial from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
S Zafar
Dr Sobia Zafar is a specialist paediatric dentist and a Discipline Lead in Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Queensland. Dr Zafar attained her Master’s degree from the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) and subsequently a DClinDent and a PhD degree from the University of Otago, New Zealand. She is the recipient of several scholarships and awards; including, University of Otago Doctoral scholarship, Colgate senior category IADR ANZ division award (2012), best student presenter prize at the Faculty of Dentistry annual research day of University of Otago (2012, 2015), winner IADR NZ division Travel Award (2015).
A Sharma
Dr Ajay Sharma gained his BDS and MDS degree from India. Following his graduation in 2008, Ajay worked as a Senior Lecturer at a reputed dental school in India where he was involved in teaching implant dentistry and periodontics at postgraduate level. He also worked as a specialist in Periodontics and Dental implants in New Delhi prior to his relocation to New Zealand to pursue his research dream. He graduated with a PhD degree from the University of Otago in 2015. His doctorate thesis involved evaluation of surface-modified dental implants and effect on osseointegration. After his PhD, he joined the Faculty of Dentistry, Griffith University, Australia as Senior Lecturer, full time, continuing his passion to teach and research.
A Quaranta
Professor Alessandro Quaranta is Senior Clinical Specialist at the Department of Periodontics of the Sydney Dental Hospital/University of Sydney and the Chief Clinical Consultant and Scientific Education Coordinator at the Smile Specialist Suite, Newcastle NSW. In 2019, he has been awarded the National Scientific Qualification (ASN) from the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) which is the highest Italian academic qualification and qualifies for a Full Professorship.