Awareness On Phace Syndrome Among Dental Students.

INTRODUCTION: PHACE syndrome comprises posterior fossa malformations, haemangioma, arterial anomalies, cardiac defects, eye anomalies and less commonly, sternal cleft or supraumbilical raphe. It is a neurocutaneous condition in which extensive or segmental Infantile haemangioma, usually on the face, scalp, or cervical region, can be associated with posterior fossa malformations, arterial abnormalities. PHACE syndrome can rarely cause oral manifestations also. AIM: To assess the knowledge and awareness on PHACE syndrome among the dental students. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This is an online study setting with a sample size of 100 dental practitioners. The sampling method used is non-probability convenience sampling with minimal sampling bias. The questionnaire comprised 20 questions and the method of representing each output variable was pie chart and bar graph. The results were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Chi square test and pearson correlation was done to check the association, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was said to be statistically significant. RESULTS: From the present study, third year students comparatively have more awareness and knowledge about PHACE syndrome, 36% were aware that PHACE syndrome can cause dental root abnormalities(p= 0.059, p>0.05), 34% were aware that PHACE syndrome can cause enamel hypoplasia(p=0.098, p>0.05), 24% were aware about the teeth that are most likely to get affected by PHACE syndrome(p=0.018, p<0.05), 36% were aware that PHACE syndrome can cause localized upper lip infantile hemangioma(p=0.026, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Within the limits of the study it can be concluded that third year students had a high level of awareness and knowledge about the syndrome when compared to the other study year students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]