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KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES ON PERIODONTAL DISEASE IN DIABETIC
PATIENTS AMONG MALAYSIAN PRIMARY CARE MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS
NMRR-17-2830-38175

Nordin NN, Vaithilingam RD, Saub R

Introduction: Evidence in the literature have confirmed the link between periodontal
disease and diabetes mellitus. Diabetes aggravate the periodontal disease progression,
while periodontitis have a negative effect to the glycaemic control of the body. Medical
practitioners, particularly those in primary care play an important role in relaying the
important dynamics of these two diseases. Objectives: To investigate the level of
awareness, knowledge, attitude, practices and to identify the barriers of medical
practitioners in their management of diabetic patients with periodontitis in Ministry of
Health (MOH), Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was
distributed to 549 medical practitioners of MOH’s primary care clinics in Kedah,
Terengganu, Johor and Negeri Sembilan. Statistical analyses were done using descriptive
and simple logistic analysis. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. Results: The
majority of the respondents were female (75.8%), aged 40 years old below (87%). Over
three-quarter (83.2%) had less than 10 years of working experience. Almost all of the
respondents were aware of the increased risk for an uncontrolled diabetic for periodontitis
(94.3%). The level of awareness was found to be statistically significant with age, gender
and perceived oral health status (p<0.05). The knowledge items that respondents most
commonly aware of, was sign of gingivitis (99.5%). Knowledge of the medical practitioners
was found to be statistically significant with smoking status and years of service (p<0.05).
Majority of the respondents agreed that ‘they should update their knowledge on the
association between systemic disease and periodontitis’ (89.6%). Ethnicity was the only
factor that is found to be significantly associated with the attitude. Only 34.2% of them
referred their diabetic patient to the dentist. Conclusion: There was a high percentage of
awareness and knowledge of the medical practitioners regarding periodontal disease in
diabetic patients of these four states. However, the low referral pattern did not reflect their
awareness. Future health promotion effort should consider in emphasizing on the
important link of these two debilitating disease.
Presented at the 13 Asian Pacific Society of Periodontology, Kuala Lumpur 2019 on 28-19 September 2019
th
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Dr Norul Nurdiyana binti Nordin
Paya Besar Dental Clinic
Pahang
Ministry of Health Malaysia

Professor Roslan bin Saub
Associate Prof Rathna Devi A/P Vaithilingam
Faculty of Dentistry
University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur

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