Knowledge, and Practice Related to Oral Leukoplakia Among Dental and Medical Professionals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Leukoplakia is a major oral potentially malignant disorder. Nonhomogeneous leukoplakia has a greater chance of developing into cancer. Leukoplakia must therefore be identified early via an oral (visual) examination by dentists and family doctors in order to maximize the chances of survival by prompt referral and early treatment. The purpose of this study was to comprehend the knowledge and practices of dentists and physicians about leukoplakia. Methodology: This research was an observational analytic study using a cross-sectional design. The study included interns, general practitioners, residents, specialists, and consultants in the dental field, as well as family medicine physicians and otolaryngologists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, excluding oral medicine dentists and medical professionals. Data was collected via a questionnaire survey conducted using Google Forms. Recruitment was done by going to several private and governmental health institutes and distributing the survey link or filling it out through a data collector. Results: A total of 260 dental and physicians participated in this survey. Of these, 147 (56.5%) were males and 113 (43.5%) were females. Knowledge scores were significantly higher in dental respondents than in physicians (p<0.001). The mean knowledge scores significantly differed across the levels, such as consultants, specialists, residents, general practitioners, and interns (P<0.001). Physicians (65.7%) were more likely to screen tobacco-using patients than dentists (31.6%). A greater percentage of dentists than physicians (77.1% vs 67.1%) respondents describe the risks associated with cigarette smoking. Conclusion: From this study, it may be concluded that most of the dental professionals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have higher theoretical levels of knowledge about leukoplakia than family medicine physicians and otolaryngologists. The study also showed that there is a significant difference between the knowledge scores across various levels of dental and medical professionals regarding the knowledge scores. The current investigation finds that dentists are less experienced in dealing with leukoplakia cases but have good theoretical knowledge of them.