Study Evaluates Quality of Orthodontic Referrals in Saudi Arabia

Oral health plays a crucial role in a child’s overall well-being, yet there is a lack of awareness among physicians about oral and dental health. In response to this issue, a recent study conducted in Saudi Arabia aimed to evaluate the involvement of physicians in examining and referring children for orthodontic problems, which can significantly impact a child’s quality of life, mental health, and overall well-being.

The Research

The multi-center cross-sectional study involved 518 physicians in Saudi Arabia. These physicians were surveyed using an e-questionnaire consisting of four sections:

• Demographics and Work-Related Characteristics: This section gathered information about the physicians’ background and professional characteristics.
• Comprehensiveness of Examinations: It assessed the extent of oral and orthodontic examinations conducted by the physicians.
• Referral Practices: This section investigated the physicians’ referral practices, reasons for referrals, and the quality of their referrals to orthodontists.
• Sources of Orthodontic Education: It explored where physicians received their orthodontic education.

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Study Findings

The results revealed several key findings:

Most physicians reported conducting partial oral (78.5%) and orthodontic (72.2%) examinations. Full examinations were less common, reported by only 12% and 2.5% of physicians, respectively.

A significant number of physicians (83.8%) referred children to orthodontists. However, the quality of referrals was predominantly rated as poor (40.3%) or fair (46.1%), with only 13.6% practicing high-quality referrals.

The main reasons for referral included dental development issues (53.3%), functional issues (51.5%), family/patient requests (42.9%), dental alignment (42.5%), oral respiratory issues (32.4%), and jaw relation (26.1%).

Referral practice was influenced by the comprehensiveness of oral and orthodontic examinations, the number of patients seen by the physician, and their level of training.

Study Implications

The study highlights the need for improving physicians’ awareness of orthodontic problems in children and their referral practices. While most physicians reported high rates of examination and referral, only a small portion performed comprehensive examinations and delivered quality referrals. The study suggests including dental courses in medical curricula and enhancing oral and orthodontic examination guidelines for physicians to address this gap in healthcare.

This research sheds light on the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between paediatricians and orthodontists to ensure early diagnosis and intervention, ultimately improving children’s oral and overall health.