A survey of knowledge, opinion and practice of dentists, pharmacists and parents in Nigeria towards the use of sugar-free medication

Authors:

ABSTRACT

Aim

The aetiology of caries is multifactorial. One key factor however is high sugar consumption, including sugar
in medication especially for children with chronic diseases. This study assessed the level of awareness, knowledge, opinion
and practice of dentists, pharmacists and parents about sugar-free medications (SFMs) and their potential to cause dental
caries.

Methods

Design: Self-administered close ended questionnaires were handed out to 98 dentists,
88 pharmacists and 129 parents of child patients. Specific questions were asked that assessed respondents knowledge,
attitude and practice with respect to prescription (dentists), dispensing (pharmacists) and consumption (parents of children)
of sugar-containing medications.

Results

More dentists than pharmacists or parents felt the main disadvantage of SFMs
is that it is less sweet than sugar-containing medications (p=0.02) and may be less acceptable (P=0.003). Over a tenth of the
dentists and pharmacist respectively, and a twentieth of parents felt the sugar content in medicine was not an important
source of caries (p<0.001). Very few dentists prescribe SFMs.

Conclusion

There is a wide gap between the level of
awareness, knowledge, opinion and practice of dentists, pharmacists and parents (drug consumers) about sugar-containing
medications (SCMs) and the potential for these medications to cause dental caries.

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