Assessment of Attitude and Practice of General Dental Practitioners Dealing With Temporomandibular Disorders and Referral to Physiotherapists

Objective: This study has been undertaken to assess the attitude and practice of General denral practitioner regarding TMD and referral to physiotherapy. Method and Material: The comparative cross sectional study was conducted with a sample population consisting of general dental practitioners of mirpurkhas Sindh. The total population estimated was about 55 GPD’s of mirpurkhas district. A convenient purposive sampling technique has been used to collect the data. The questionnaire consisted of three sections concerning general questions regarding referals to physiotherapy, attitude and practice of general dental practitioners regarding Tempromandibular joint dysfunctions (TMD). Results: The results shows 57.1% general dental practitioners believe 53.1% patients have neck pain and poor posture, 81.6% patients were referred to other healthcare provider, only 22.4% patients were referred to physiotherapist, 28.6% patients referred to physiotherapist just because of neck pain, only 22.4% patients with postural alterations were referred to physiotherapist 53.1 GPD’s have little confidence in assessing, therapeutic decision and treatment outcomes of TMD’s. 69.4% GPD’s provide medical management to the patients suffering from TMD while 44.9% GPD’s provide pharmacological management Conclusion: This study concluded that there is a need of TMD experts to deal with patients suffering from TMD. There is lack of knowledge regarding Physiotherapeutic benefits of TMD in General dental practitioners of Mirpurkhas, Sindh. Majority of GPD’s have very little confidence in making diagnosis and treating patient suffering from temporomandibular dysfunctions. Keywords: Temporomendibular disorders (TMDs), General dental practitioners, physiotherapy of TMD, oral rehabilitation.