Dental patient knowledge about the effects of smoking and attitudes about the role of dentists in smoking cessation.

DENTAL PATIENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF SMOKING AND ATTITUDES ABOUT THE ROLE OF DENTISTS IN SMOKING CESSATION. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2017 Mar;48(2):473-84 Authors: Yahya NA, Saub R, Nor MM, Yusoff N Abstract Dentists can offer their patients who smoke tobacco assistance with smoking cessation. We conducted this study to assess dental patient knowledge about the effects of smoking and perceptions and attitudes regarding the role of dentists in smoking cessation counselling. We conducted this study to inform tobacco cessation programs that could potentially include dentists. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire among 375 patients. The mean age of subjects was 33.4 years; females comprised 51.5%. Participants were divided into 3 groups: those who never smoked (n = 263, 70.7%), smokers (n = 92, 24.7%), and ex-smokers (n = 17, 4.5%). Significantly more participants (p = 0.046) who never smoked (92.9%) knew smoking can cause bad breath than smokers (86.9%). Significantly more participants (p = 0.002) who never smoked (74.8%) knew smoking can cause periodontal disease than smokers (57.6%). Significantly more participants (p < 0.001) who never smoked (84.5%) knew smoking can cause oral cancer than smokers (66.7%). Significantly more participants (p < 0.001) who never smoked (86.7%) knew smoking can cause lung cancer than smokers (69.7%). Significantly more participants w...
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research