Oral cancer awareness questionnaire for dentists
Project no. 20605 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2019
Summary
Objective: Dental professionals play an imperative role in the diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer. Early diagnosis has a positive impact on prognosis, therefore dentists should be familiar with clinical signs, symptoms and differerantial diagnosis of oral lesions. The aim of this study is to present the current status of oral cancer awareness among Turkish dentists. Materials and Methods: Oral cancer awareness questionnaire was e-mailed to dentists via e-mail by the Turkish Dental Assosiation. The questionnaire consisted of sections regarding demographic information, oral cancer risk factors, diagnostic factors,questions about the dentists’ attitudes and clinical applications. Pearson chi-square and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the data. Statistical significance level was accepted as p <0.05. Results: 1167 dentists out of 19.575 replied to the questionnaire. Newly graduated dentists have a deeper understanding of oral cancer; however, older graduates were found to be superior in terms of patient management and clinical practice. Specialist registrar and specialists were found to have higher levels of awareness and knowledge of oral cancer than general practitioners. Oral cancer awareness and level of knowledge vary according to age, year of graduation, workplace and existence of a post-graduate diploma in one of the dental specialities. Conclusion: A thorough oral mucosa examination is very important in the early diagnosis of oral cancers. Therefore, it should be routinely applied by dentists. There is a need to update dentists' knowledge and practical skills on premalignant and malignant oral lesions through continuous training.