Practices and awareness of the paediatricians regarding syrups and sugar free medicines in Chennai City

Abstract Introduction Paediatricians and paediatric health care professionals should develop the knowledge base to perform oral health risk assessments on all patients beginning at 6 months of age Dentist are not the only health professionals to see children at high risk for tooth decay. Paediatricians have a key role in helping young patients before tooth decay becomes a reality. Aim 1. To assess Practices of the paediatricians regarding syrups and sugar free medicines in Chennai City. 2. To assess Awareness of the paediatricians regarding syrups and sugar free medicines in Chennai City. Materials and Methods The study consisted of 65 males and 45 females which totally comprised of 110 study subjects. The subjects were of age ranging between 28 and above 57 years old. The source of data was primary and was obtained through a questionnaire survey. The resulting data was coded and statistical analysis was done using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 17.0 software, Chi-square test was applied to compare the percentages and the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results Though there was a difference in responses given by Paediatricians regarding their practices and awareness on syrups and sugar free medicines according to year of practices there was no marked difference noted between them. Conclusion In the present study, most paediatricians recognize that paediatric medicines can cause teeth problems, a high percentage are able to establish a relationship with the dental caries. Paediatric formulations without added sugar should be available to those responsible, and professionals could provide better and more intensive teaching on the proper oral hygiene care after use of these medicines.