Oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty awareness among medical undergraduates in North India: A cross-sectional study

TL;DR

This study explores how well medical students in North India understand oral and maxillofacial surgery, highlighting the need for better awareness and curriculum inclusion.

Contribution

The study introduces a cross-sectional survey to assess medical undergraduates' awareness of oral and maxillofacial surgery and its referral practices.

Findings

Medical undergraduates show limited awareness of oral and maxillofacial surgery as a specialty.

Referrals to oral and maxillofacial surgery primarily come from dental practitioners, not medical ones.

The study recommends integrating the specialty into medical education to improve future patient referrals.

Abstract

Oral and maxillofacial surgery though being a well-established specialty in India, still struggles for proper referrals from medical
specialities. Majority of the referrals to this speciality turn up exclusively through dental practitioners while lacking the same from
medical counterparts. The familiarity of medical undergraduates with the scope of Oral and maxillofacial surgery is vital to set the
stage for appropriate patient referrals in future. Henceforth, a cross-sctional study was conducted among medical undergraduates in order
to assess their understanding of this specialty by generating an electronic questionniare. A total of 301 participants from various medical
institutions completed the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was employed to measure participants referral preferances for common maxillofacial
surgery procedures. The study evaluated an alpha coefficient of 0.79 which suggests a justifiable reliability. Thus, this study shows the
paramount importance of Oral and maxillofacial surgery awareness among medical undergraduates to pave the way for suitable referrals. Moreover,
it recommends an obvious need for introduction and comprehensive exposure to this speciality as a part of medical curriculum.