Paediatricians Perceptions towards the Use of Sweetened Liquid Medications and its Relationship to Oral Health of Children

BACKGROUND Oral liquid medications (syrups) are widely prescribed in children for better compliance. But, certain inactive agents that are added in paediatric liquid medications can injure the dental tissues and when used routinely over long time, it can make patients more susceptible to dental cari...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of evolution of medical and dental sciences Vol. 8; no. 41; pp. 3070 - 3073
Main Authors Bhandary, Srikala, Pooja, M.R, Shetty, Urvashi Ashwin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Akshantala Enterprises Private Limited 14.10.2019
Subjects
Child health
Dental caries
Drugs
Hygiene
Oral drugs
Oral health
Oral hygiene
Pediatricians
Pediatrics
Public hospitals
Sugar
Toiletries industry
India
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Summary:BACKGROUND Oral liquid medications (syrups) are widely prescribed in children for better compliance. But, certain inactive agents that are added in paediatric liquid medications can injure the dental tissues and when used routinely over long time, it can make patients more susceptible to dental caries and dental erosion. Consumption during bedtime, low pH, high viscosity, increased frequency of consumption, reduction in salivary flow and excessive sugar content lead to cariogenic and erosive potential of these drugs. We wanted to assess the perceptions of a group of paediatricians about the use of sweetened paediatric liquid medications and their erosive and cariogenic potentials. METHODS The study (questionnaire survey) was carried out in Mangalore. It included paediatricians from different health services, private and government hospitals, and private clinics. Questionnaires were given and collected the same day. RESULTS 40 (44%) paediatricians revealed considerable awareness regarding the association between the paediatric medicines and dental decay, which was not observed for the association between paediatric medicines and dental erosion which was only 17 (18.7%). CONCLUSIONS There is a need to create awareness amongst these professionals to ensure and encourage practicing of oral hygiene instructions for their paediatric patients, post-usage of sucrose containing drugs, because majority of the paediatricians recognized the positive association between sucrose containing liquid medication and dental caries. An added training should be given to these professionals to motivate their patients to follow oral hygiene instructions after consumption of sweetened liquid medications. KEY WORDS Oral Health, Paediatricians, Oral Liquid Medications, Cariogenic, Erosion
ISSN:2278-4748
2278-4802
DOI:10.14260/jemds/2019/667