Integration of tobacco treatment specialist (TTS) training into dental and dental hygiene curricula

Abstract

Tobacco Use Disorder (TUD) is a chronic, relapsing disease and the leading cause of preventable disease and death. Research forecasts one billion people will die due to TUD during the 21st century. 1 Smoking is associated with cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, periodontitis, caries, oral, and esophageal cancer. 2 Secondhand smoke is associated with periodontitis, stroke, lung cancer, coronary heart disease and in children increasing sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, and delayed lung growth. 3 Tobacco use in youth is associated with negative impacts on attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. 4 Client's successful tobacco cessation is related to a reduction in depression, anxiety, stress, and lessen the likelihood of relapse to alcohol and other substances. 5,6 Seventy percent of smokers who present for tobacco cessation treatment do not receive the evidence-based pharmacotherapy and counseling that can double abstinence rates. 7 Health-care providers report the lack of experience or expertise as a barrier to effectively treating TUD. 8 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.