Patient Knowledge and Awareness of Interrelationship between Periodontal Disease and Systemic Health: A Hospital-Based Electronic Questionnaire Survey

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of patients regarding the interrelationship between periodontal disease and systemic health. A survey was employed involving 106 patients selected with purposive sampling from the Periodontics Clinic at the Oral and Dental Hospital. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire to assess the respondents' knowledge and awareness of periodontal disease and its impact on systemic health. Data analysis was performed using the Guttman scale and Spearman correlation. The results showed that most respondents had poor knowledge and awareness regarding the bidirectional relationship between periodontal disease and systemic health. The percentage of respondents categorized as having poor knowledge was for periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, respiratory tract infections, and pregnancy: 74.53, 73.58, 76.42, and 67.92%, respectively. Similarly, poor awareness was found in 79.25% of participants regarding the importance of periodontal health for overall body health. The Spearman test revealed a strong, positive, and significant correlation between respondents' knowledge and awareness levels (r = 0.742, p < 0.001). The knowledge and awareness of patients regarding the bidirectional relationship between periodontal disease and systemic health are poor. The strong correlation between knowledge and awareness levels indicates that intensive educational measures are needed to enhance public understanding of the importance of maintaining periodontal health to prevent systemic diseases.