PAEDIATRICIANS COGNIZANCE ABOUT THE DELETERIOUS EFFECT OF ANTIBIOTICS AND DENTAL CARIES – A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Aim: To evaluate pediatricians’ cognizance about the use of antibiotics and dental caries. Materials and Method: 200 Pediatricians’ who were willing to participate were selected randomly from public and private medical hospitals in South India. A pretested questionnaire was distributed to the Paediatricians’ and was personally contacted to receive the responses within a week’s time. Descriptive statistics was done using SPSS version 16 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: The present study showed that 63% of pediatricians believed that paediatric medicines are not sweet. 72% of them believed antibiotics are not too sweet and 31% were unaware of what sweetens antibiotics. 35% of pediatricians frequently prescribed antibiotics and 95% of them chose oral way as their route of administration. 31% of pediatricians believed antibiotics can be related to dental effects and only 19% of them recommended children to brush after oral intake of antibiotics. 63% of   pediatricians revealed that children complain about the taste of antibiotics. Conclusion: The Paediatricians’ in the study did not perceive the correct relation between the presence of fermentable carbohydrates in antibiotics and dental caries. Many of them believed that these medicines promoted a defect in tooth structure favoring the development of dental caries. Clinical Significance: For the past few decades, there is an increasing rate of dental caries among children who is under consumption of paediatric medications. This study provides a channel to evaluate awareness among pediatricians’.