KAP on the Management Strategies among Dental Students on the Treatment of Oral Manifestations of Scarlet Fever
Author(s): A Shamaa Anjum and Dhanraj Ganapathy*
Abstract
Good oral health is also an important part of general health but generally there is a perception that oral diseases are limited to the scope of dentistry. Poor oral health, apart from causing health problems also lead to social inequalities. Thus the prevention of oral diseases should be made a priority in many countries. Scarlet fever is an acute respiratory disorder caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS). Generally doctors treat scarlet fever with antibiotics to reduce the symptoms and to reduce the spread of disease. The aim of this survey was to know about the knowledge, attitude and practices on the treatment of oral manifestations of Scarlet fever among the dental practitioners. An online survey of 17 questions was taken up by 100 dental practitioners in Chennai. The data was analyzed and studied by plotting a pie chart. The dental practitioners were aware that Streptococcus bacteria were the causative agent for scarlet fever and that it occurs mainly in children between the age of 5 to 15. According to the study the dental practitioners are aware about the treatment and preventive measure of scarlet fever. They also have knowledge about the alternative treatments. From the study it is evident that the dental practitioners were aware of the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of scarlet fever even though it was not much prevalent in India.