{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T11:02:52Z","timestamp":1791198172298,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791158400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oral Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that has been increasingly associated with systemic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disorders, respiratory diseases, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Medical professionals play a critical role in early identification and referral; however, awareness of periodontal\u2013systemic interactions remains variable.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals regarding the relationship between periodontal disease and systemic health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 380 medical professionals across India, including interns, postgraduate students, practitioners, and faculty. A structured, pre-tested questionnaire was distributed electronically using Google Forms. Responses were scored using a Likert scale, and composite awareness scores were calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, associations between categorical variables were assessed using the chi-square test, and differences in mean awareness scores among groups were evaluated using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's\n                      <jats:italic>post-hoc<\/jats:italic>\n                      test. A\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      -value &amp;lt; 0.05 was considered statistically significant.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Although 90.5% of participants reported referring patients to dentists, only 1.1% did so based on knowledge of periodontal\u2013systemic associations. Awareness of clinical symptoms was high (86.6%), with gingival bleeding being the most commonly identified sign (33.4%). ANOVA revealed significant differences in awareness scores among professional groups (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.05). Government practitioners demonstrated significantly higher awareness than interns regarding diabetes mellitus and adverse pregnancy outcomes, while medical faculty demonstrated significantly higher awareness than interns regarding PCOS.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A significant knowledge gap exists among medical professionals regarding periodontal\u2013systemic relationships. Integrating oral health education into medical curricula and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration may improve awareness, referral practices, and patient care outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/froh.2026.1931494","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T10:32:08Z","timestamp":1791196328000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Knowledge, awareness, and attitudes of medical professionals toward the periodontal\u2013systemic disease relationship: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Narayane","family":"Ramkumar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Periodontology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University)","place":["Puducherry, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanumanth","family":"Sankar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthodontics, Vinayaka Mission's Sankarachariyar Dental College, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University)","place":["Salem, Tamil Nadu, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Premalatha","family":"T","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University)","place":["Salem, Tamil Nadu, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"The World Oral Health Report 2003: Continuous improvement of Oral health in the 21st Century","author":"Petersen","year":"2003"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5002","DOI":"10.1128\/JB.00542-10","article-title":"The human oral microbiome","volume":"192","author":"Dewhirst","year":"2010","journal-title":"J Bacteriol"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1809","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(05)67728-8","article-title":"Periodontal diseases","volume":"366","author":"Pihlstrom","year":"2005","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"689","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(02)01387-9","article-title":"The human mouth as a focus of infection","volume":"33","author":"Miller","year":"1891","journal-title":"Dent Cosmos"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"821","DOI":"10.1902\/annals.1996.1.1.821","article-title":"Periodontal diseases: pathogenesis","volume":"1","author":"Offenbacher","year":"1996","journal-title":"Ann Periodontol"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2089","DOI":"10.1902\/jop.2005.76.11-S.2089","article-title":"Systemic effects of periodontitis: epidemiology of periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease","volume":"76","author":"Beck","year":"2005","journal-title":"J Periodontol"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1902\/annals.2001.6.1.99","article-title":"Bidirectional interrelationships between diabetes and periodontal diseases: an epidemiologic perspective","volume":"6","author":"Taylor","year":"2001","journal-title":"Ann Periodontol"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1103","DOI":"10.1902\/jop.1996.67.10s.1103","article-title":"Periodontal infection as a possible risk factor for preterm low birth weight","volume":"67","author":"Offenbacher","year":"1996","journal-title":"J Periodontol"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1239","DOI":"10.1902\/annals.2003.8.1.54","article-title":"Associations between periodontal disease and risk for nosocomial bacterial pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease","volume":"74","author":"Scannapieco","year":"2003","journal-title":"J Periodontol"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"606","DOI":"10.1038\/nrrheum.2017.132","article-title":"The case for periodontitis in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"13","author":"Potempa","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat Rev Rheumatol"},{"key":"B11","first-page":"841","article-title":"Position paper: periodontal disease as a potential risk factor for systemic diseases","volume":"69","author":"Scannapieco","year":"1998","journal-title":"J Periodontol"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S24","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpe.12089","article-title":"Periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: consensus report","volume":"40","author":"Tonetti","year":"2013","journal-title":"J Clin Periodontol"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"660","DOI":"10.1177\/154405910408300214","article-title":"Periodontitis and systemic inflammation: control of the local infection is associated with a reduction in serum inflammatory markers","volume":"31","author":"D\u2019Aiuto","year":"2004","journal-title":"J Clin Periodontol"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.298.6676.779","article-title":"Association between dental health and acute myocardial infarction","volume":"298","author":"Mattila","year":"1989","journal-title":"Br Med J"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4356","DOI":"10.1128\/iai.62.10.4356-4361.1994","article-title":"Effects of porphyromonas gingivalis infection on inflammatory mediator response and pregnancy outcome in hamsters","volume":"62","author":"Collins","year":"1994","journal-title":"Infect Immun"},{"key":"B16","first-page":"ZC65","article-title":"Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among health professionals in Saudi arabia","volume":"10","author":"Baseer","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Clin Diagn Res"},{"key":"B17","first-page":"119","article-title":"Primary care physicians\u2019 knowledge of and attitudes towards oral health","volume":"6","author":"Rabiei","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Dent Res Dent Clin Dent Prospects"},{"key":"B18","first-page":"742","article-title":"Awareness of the relationship between oral health and systemic diseases among physicians","volume":"36","author":"Al-Hazmi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Saudi Med J"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"360","DOI":"10.1159\/000329886","article-title":"Knowledge about the association between periodontal diseases and diabetes mellitus: contrasting dentists and physicians","volume":"20","author":"Al-Khabbaz","year":"2011","journal-title":"Med Princ Pract"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fertnstert.2010.07.1052","article-title":"Periodontal disease in polycystic ovary syndrome","volume":"82","author":"Dursun","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Periodontol"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Oral Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/froh.2026.1931494\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T10:32:10Z","timestamp":1791196330000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/froh.2026.1931494\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"references-count":20,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/froh.2026.1931494"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/froh.2026.1931494","relation":{},"ISSN":["2673-4842"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2673-4842","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"article-number":"1931494"}}