[Why try a docter when you need a dentist? Oral health and primary care medicine: what are the issues?].
Oral conditions have some of the highest prevalence and incidences rates of all health problems in industrialized countries. They are associated with pain, functional limitations, interferences with usual activities and life-threatening complications. Most people experiencing oral symptoms visit a dentist. But how many and why are patients with oral conditions presenting to general practitioners? Despite early separated training curriculum, there is an overlap with regard to clinicians in medicine and dentistry, who are called to treat patients seeking care for non dental problems of the maxillofacial region. This paper aims to get a fix on oral conditions in which primary care doctors have unmistakably to play a role in. However, studies have shown that physicians lack knowledge to promote oral health in their patients what lead universities to develop recently an oral health curriculum for medical students.
Madrid
Carlos
C
Service de stomatologie et de médecine dentaire, PMU, 1011 Lausanne.
Bouferrache
Kahina
K
Moller
Peter
P
D003729:Dental Care; D006801:Humans; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D009909:Oral Health; D011320:Primary Health Care