Dentistry in the eyes of medical students

Introduction. It is known that patients primarily come to general practitioners asking for help with oral disease. Although the matter falls out of the frame of `traditional` medical practice, ethical guidance suggests that doctors should examine one`s oral cavity with the aim of recognizing symptoms which treatment could improve the quality of oral and general health leading to an early discovery of potentially severe diseases. The aim was to examine the habits and attitudes of medical students and graduates who are interns related to oral health care, their knowledge of oral cavity diseases and systematic diseases with symptoms manifested in oral cavity, as well as their knowledge of patients who are at risk from dental interventions. Material and methods. The survey was conducted on the sample of 100 subjects. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions. The results were collected and statistically analyzed. Results. The majority of subjects go to the dentist only after the toothache starts. Although 84% of medical students make sure to check oral cavity while taking medical history, more than half of the examined medical students would not send the patient to dentist for consultation. Every tenth student was not able to state other local disease of oral cavity apart from tooth decay. Even 6% of examined students classified the tooth decay as an aesthetic problem. Half of examined students considered their study program needed course in the field of dentistry. Conclusion. Medical students are not well informed about the field of oral hygiene and pathology of oral cavity. Interdisciplinary cooperation of General Practitioners and Dentists is important.