KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS, AND ATTITUDE OF DENTAL STUDENTS TOWARDS MANAGEMENT OF DENTAL PATIENTS WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS.

Background: People with psychological problems are susceptible to oral disease for a number of reasons like demotivation, poor oral hygiene, fear, specific dental phobia, dental costs, difficulty in accessing healthcare facilities, and the side effects of psychiatric drugs. Dental practitioners must be aware of the existing oral health problems in these patients as it will help in prompt diagnosis and successful treatment. Hence, the aim of this this study was to assess the Knowledge, awareness and attitude of dental students towards management of dental patients with psychological problems. Materials and Methods: A validated close-ended, self-administered questionnaire of 19 questions regarding the knowledge, awareness and attitude towards management of dental patients with psychological problems was distributed among 120 students randomly belonging to final year, and internship (5th year trainee) of undergraduate dental program in Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Saveetha University, Chennai. The data extracted were tabulated, statistically analyzed and results obtained. Results were calculated on the basis of frequency and percentages using SPSS. Results: 78% of final year students were not aware that psychological stress could alter patient's immune function. Only 27% of the internship students were aware that medication given for psychologically affected patient can interact with certain dental treatment, while final year students were not at all aware about them. Very few students knew that burning mouth syndrome, taste alteration and xerostomia are part of the manifestation seen in psychologically affected patient. 100% of the students were aware that aphthous ulcer is one of the signs of psychological stress. All of the students replied that there should be more emphasis and training on identifying and managing patient with psychological problem during dental curriculum and CDE programme to be conducted. Clinical Significance: It can be concluded from this study that the Knowledge, Awareness levels of Dental Students regarding Management of Dental Patients with Psychological Problems was inadequate. However, the dental students showed positive attitude towards learning about management of patients with psychological problems. Hence training in psychological counselling should be a part of the dental undergraduate curriculum for the students to understand more on psychosomatic disorder which enables them make an early diagnose of such condition and able to help the patients out. Furthermore, the introduction of psychology as a separate subject with emphasis on oral psychosomatic disorders is recommended which could separately be termed as "somatopsychology.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]