Abstract: Objective To investigate the profile of common oral diseases in the Inner Mongolia region and the impact on local residents, and to obtain a clear picture of technology availability for local oral physicians and their needs for oral medical training. This will provide an important basis for optimizing the content of continuing education program and the direction of counterpart assistance in order to improve the technical level of local oral physicians and the practicality of oral medical teaching. Methods The study selected oral physicians from the Inner Mongolia region as subjects and designed a questionnaire to explore the current status of oral diseases and the training needs of oral physicians in this area. The chi-square test or Fisher's exact probability method was used for statistical testing. Results Data collected from the survey questionnaires of 181 oral physicians in the Inner Mongolia region indicated that 56.83% of physicians were engaged in routine oral medicine, reaching 56.83%. Dental caries and peri-odontitis were the most common oral diseases in the region (70.37% and 65.74% respectively). The most common impacts of these diseases on patients were pain and discomfort. In terms of clinical skills, diagnostic imaging skills, oral examination skills and root canal therapy were the most important as the Objective of training there were 70.17% of respondents expressed expectation to get the learning and training opportunity for new technologies and methods. Conclusions Continuing education programs and specific targeted assistance projects should focus on strengthening basic professional training for dental practitioners in Inner Mongolia and the promotion of capacity building in the field of healthcare and promotion of oral health in the region.

Key words: oral diseases, education, demand, survey questionnaire