Gorde:
| Egile nagusia: | |
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| Formatua: | Recurso digital |
| Hizkuntza: | ingelesa |
| Argitaratua: |
Zenodo
2025
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| Gaiak: | |
| Sarrera elektronikoa: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17907381 |
| Etiketak: |
Etiketa erantsi
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Aurkibidea:
- <p><strong><span lang="EN-GB">Abstract</span></strong></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-GB">Background: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) is an emergent dental specialty that deals with diseases, injuries, and defects of the face, mouth, and jaws. In India, first-line responders for orofacial problems are, in many cases, practitioners from Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Physiotherapy (AYUSH and allied health systems). This makes it imperative for them to be aware of OMFS to ensure timely referrals and good patient care. Notwithstanding this, there are existing knowledge gaps about OMFS among non-dental healthcare providers, which may interfere with interdisciplinary collaboration.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-GB">Objective: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate knowledge and awareness of OMFS among interns of Ayurveda, Homeopathy, and Physiotherapy colleges of Belagavi, Karnataka, and to highlight areas of educational enhancement.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-GB">Methods: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">A structured, validated questionnaire was sent electronically to KLE University interns, Belagavi, between March 10–17, 2025. 143 interns responded (Ayurveda: 29.4%, Homeopathy: 20.3%, Physiotherapy: 50.3%). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were applied to compare awareness levels and inter-variable associations.</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-GB">Results: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">The majority of respondents (75.5%) knew OMFS to be a specialty of dentistry but only 44.1% knew about its complete array of treatment modalities. Highest awareness was for frequent OMFS interventions like temporomandibular joint disorders (67.1%), oral cancer (65.0%), cleft lip and palate (65.7%), and facial trauma (facial lacerations: 62.9%; fractures: 56.6%). Nevertheless, awareness of OMFS interventions in the management of obstructive sleep apnea (29.4%), neck swellings (35.7%), and craniofacial anomalies (46.9%) was considerably lower. Positively, 57.3% indicated a willingness to have OMFS specialists join their treatment panels. All between-group comparisons were statistically significant (p < 0.05).</span></p> <p><strong><span lang="EN-GB">Conclusion: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">Though overall awareness of OMFS is present among AYUSH and allied health interns, significant gaps exist in understanding the full extent of the specialty. Specific curriculum modifications and cross-disciplinary exposure are proposed to address these gaps to facilitate India's National Health Policy integration aims as well as to allow for enhanced patient outcomes through teamwork.</span></p>