Background: The incorporation of oral health promotion into general healthcare has been proposed by the World Health Organization. General practitioners (GPs) could play a vital role in the promotion of oral healthcare. Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the awareness of oral and maxillofacial medicine specialty and its scope of practice among Iranian GPs. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Yazd, Iran. A total of 95 GPs randomly filled out a close-ended questionnaire. Responses to the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. The self-administered questionnaire comprised 35 items and covered the demographical details and characteristics of participants, in addition to their awareness of oral and maxillofacial medicine and its scope of practice. Finally, awareness scores were classified as weak, intermediate, and good. The data were analyzed using a t-test and Pearson correlation. A P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all statistical analyses. Results: Only 24.2% of GPs had enough awareness. The mean score of total awareness about oral diseases was 11.82 ± 3. The mean scores of total awareness for the oral manifestations of systemic diseases, medical considerations in dentistry, and oral lesions were 3.59 ± 1.17, 3.96 ± 1.62, and 4.27 ± 1.65, respectively. Conclusions: According to this study, the awareness of GPs playing a key role regarding oral medicine and oral manifestations of systemic diseases was weak. It is recommended to revise the medical curriculum to incorporate related courses about common oral diseases into the medical curriculum. The aim will only be achieved by improving the coordination between dentists and GPs.
Background and aims: Oral mucosa is prone to various lesions. Some of these lesions can be early signs of a particular disease or even malignancy in the body. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency distribution of oral biopsies from 2009 to 2019. Methods: In this analytical descriptive cross-sectional study, 621 records of the oral cavity biopsies performed in the pathology department of Shahid Sadoughi hospital were analyzed. Age, gender, type of lesion, site of lesion, histopathological diagnosis, year of referral, and medical specialist who performed the biopsy were included in the study checklist. The data were analyzed using chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis test in SPSS version 25.0. Results: Of 621 biopsies, 308 specimens belonged to men (49.6%) and 313 specimens belonged to women (50.4%). The mean age of patients was 46.58±21.08 years, ranging from 6 months to 95 years. The most affected areas were the tongue (33%), lower lip (29.1%) and cheeks (17.7%). squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (27.9%), inflammatory lesions (26.1%), mucocele (14.8%), and ulcers (8.5%) were the most frequent lesions. There was a significant difference in the age of individuals with different lesions (P<0.001). Conclusion: The most frequent lesion diagnosed in biopsies was SCC. The most frequently affected sites were tongue and cheek. Lesions were more frequent in women and were most frequently seen in the fourth, fifth, and sixth decades of life.
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