Assessment of knowledge and practice of pharmacists regarding oral health in Kerman, Iran

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Oral health is an integral part of general health. Between the different medical professions, pharmacists are one of the groups who encounter patients seeking consultation in the oral health field a lot. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of pharmacists in Kerman, Iran, toward oral health.METHODS: All pharmacists were invited to participate in the study after being informed about the aims of the study. A validated questionnaire with six sections including demographic data, oral hygiene behavior of the participants, the pharmacies’ specifications and products related to oral health, questions related to knowledge, questions related to practice, and questions related to the participants’ assessment were filled out by the participants. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, and descriptive results were presented in tables and charts. The chi-square statistical tests were used to explore any association between variables.RESULTS: Data were analyzed for 81 participants. Most of the participants were male and the mean age was 38 ± 10. The pharmacists’ mean knowledge of oral health was 6.5 out of 10 which places them in the medium knowledge range. The performance of pharmacists when encountering oral problems was prescribing analgesics in 79% of cases for tooth aches. There was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge score between different age and gender groups (P = 0.500).CONCLUSION: The results show a medium knowledge of pharmacists on oral health topics. Considering their own desire plans to train and educate in oral health fields to promote oral health seem necessary.