Knowledge, Opinion, Practice of Dentists, Pharmacists and Parents on SFM

Background: The main cause of caries is the high consumption of sugar, including sugar in medication especially for children with chronic diseases. Aim: 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. Method: 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 medication Results: More dentists than pharmacists or parents felt the main disadvantage of SFM is that it is less sweet than sugar containing medications (p=0.02) and may be less acceptable (P=0.003. Over a tenth and 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 SFM. Conclusion: 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.