Prevalence of Oral Manifestations of Systemic Diseases in Patients Visiting the Dental Outpatient Department of Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study was to evaluate the awareness of oral health workers in identifying the prevalence of oral manifestations of systemic diseases in patients visiting the Dental Out-Patient Department of Sindh, Pakistan. METHODOLOGY A descriptive, cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, from October to December 2021. The study was conducted in various institutes from all over Sindh, Pakistan. An online, well-structured questionnaire was designed using Google Forms and distributed to the participants through social media platforms in the dental community. Using the Open-Epi software regarding a parent article, the sample size of this study was calculated. Keeping the confidence interval at 95% and the desired percentile at 50, the total sample size was calculated to be 100. Around 175 questionnaires were given out to the candidates. RESULTSThe results showed that 81% male and 19% female participated, including 45% postgraduate trainees, 30% house officers, and 25% general dentists. 80% detected 2-3 systemic diseases in a patient, with 75% observing oral manifestations preceding systemic illness diagnosis. The majority favoured treating underlying ailments (75%), and prevalent conditions included hypertension (90%), diabetes (80%), anaemia (75%), and lichen planus (40.7%). CONCLUSION Oral health workers play a vital role in the initial and early identification and multidisciplinary medical management of various systemic diseases. A coordinated approach between physicians and dentists in diagnosing and managing these conditions is necessary to achieve optimal clinical outcomes.