title: A survey of knowledge, opinion and practice of dentists, pharmacists and parents in Nigeria towards the use of  sugar-free medication.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aetiology of caries is multifactorial. One key factor however is high sugar  consumption, including sugar  in medication especially for children with chronic diseases. This study assessed the level of awareness, knowledge, opinion  and practice of dentists, pharmacists and parents about sugar-free medications (SFMs) and their potential to cause dental  caries.
  
  
  METHODS
  
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-administered close ended questionnaires were handed out to 98  dentists,   88 pharmacists and 129 parents of child patients. Specific questions were asked that assessed respondents knowledge,  attitude and practice with respect to prescription (dentists), dispensing (pharmacists) and consumption (parents of children)  of sugar-containing medications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More dentists than pharmacists  or parents felt the main disadvantage of SFMs  is that it is less sweet than sugar-containing medications (p=0.02) and may be less acceptable (P=0.003). Over a tenth of the  dentists and pharmacist respectively, and a twentieth of parents felt the sugar content in medicine was not an important  source of caries (p<0.001). Very few dentists prescribe SFMs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a wide gap between the level of  awareness, knowledge, opinion and practice of dentists, pharmacists and parents (drug consumers) about sugar-containing  medications (SCMs) and the potential for these medications to cause dental caries.
authors: Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
authors: M O
authors: MO
authors: Folayan
authors: O O
authors: OO
authors: Bankole
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Osaguona
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Fatusi
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Oyedele
authors: M O
authors: MO
authors: Ashiwaju
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003142:Communication; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003815:Dentists; D004339:Drug Compounding; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004497:Education, Dental; D004512:Education, Pharmacy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D010290:Parents; D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D010595:Pharmacists; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012996:Solutions; D013395:Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014677:Pharmaceutical Vehicles; D012996:Solutions; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013395:Sucrose