Methods: The target population included all general physicians working in Public Health Centers of Tehran city. The Data was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire on physicians’ backgrounds, self-perceived oral health knowledge, willingness to receive oral health information and their perceived confidence to diagnose dental decay and to consult parents about oral health care. Chi-square test was used for statistical analyses.
Results: A total of 220 physicians took part in the study (28% male, 72% female) among which 34% reported to be confident enough to diagnose dental caries and 32% believed that they are knowledgeable enough to advise parents regarding dental care. More than 70% of the physicians reported their willingness to receive oral health information to be very much or much. Physicians who were more confident to advise parents, were more willing to get information about oral health (p=0.01). No gender differences were observed.
Conclusions: Our study revealed that despite their willingness, physicians do not feel confident and knowledgeable enough to deliver oral health care for children. This calls for providing them with the oral health promotion trainings to facilitate their crucial role as oral health promoters.