Knowledge and practices regarding oral cancer among graduating dental students

Abstract

Objective: Early diagnosis of oral cancer greatly increases the probability of cure and survival rates. Ensuring that future dentists are knowledgeable about oral cancer will improve the efficacy of prevention, screening and management of these lesions. This paper is aimed at determining the knowledge and practices of graduating dental students regarding oral cancer. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the graduating dental students of the University of Benin, using a pretested questionnaire. Results: The response rate to the survey was 100%. About one-fourth (23.0%) of the respondents exhibited good knowledge and 76.2% average knowledge about the risk factors of oral cancers. At least, over 85% of the students replied that tobacco, alcohol, radiation and betel nut chewing were risk factors for oral cancers. Over 90.0% of the respondents cited the tongue (96.7%) and the floor of the mouth (91.8%) as the most common sites of oral cancers. A total of 96.7% of the dental students routinely ask patients on the use of alcohol and tobacco and about 83.6% of the respondents routinely provide oral examination to patients over 40 years of age. Conclusion: Although, the graduating dental students easily identified alcohol and tobacco as risk factors for oral cancers, knowledge of other risk factors such as poor nutrition, oral sex and sunlight was on the average. The dental curriculum for the final year should lay more emphasis on diagnostic and prognostic factors of oral cancer.