Knowledge, attitude and practices about oral cancers among dental students in H.P Government Dental College, Shimla-Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Aim:The aim was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among undergraduate dental students about oral cancer.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among undergraduate dental students between the 3rd and 5th years in H.P Government Dental College, Shimla. The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions, five each on knowledge, attitudes and practices. The data were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Inc., version 16 for Windows, Chicago, IL, USA).Results:The response rate of the study was 90.6%. There were 23 (21.5%) males and 84 (78.5%) females in the study. There was a predominance of females (78.5%). The average knowledge percentage for the entire population is 81.9% (excellent knowledge). Tobacco and alcohol were correctly identified by 63.5% of the subjects. Squamous cell carcinoma was described as the most common type of oral cancer by 105 (98.3%) of the students. 60.7% of the subjects strongly disagreed that their knowledge regarding the prevention and detection of oral cancer is current and adequate, and 99% agreed that there is a need for additional training/information regarding oral cancer. About 92.5% of the subjects used to educate their subjects about the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol.Conclusion:The study implies that the knowledge, especially about the etiological factors of oral cancer needs to be reinforced throughout the undergraduate dental courses so that they can use the same in educating and motivating the masses to adapt healthy lifestyles.

Assessing oral cancer awareness among dental and medical students of a Malaysian private university

“…The study identified an inequality in gender distribution, with a majority of students in both the medical and dental fields being female, similarly to previous studies conducted in Malaysian public universities. This trend, noted internationally, has not changed much from previous studies. Also similarly to previous studies conducted in Malaysian public universities, the group of medical students was larger than that of dental students, possibly because Malaysian universities usually have a much larger intake of medical students than dental students.…”

“…found that 12.3% of medical students and 53.3% of dental students felt that they had adequate knowledge about prevention and detection of oral cancer. In India, only 25.8% of medical students and 7.5% of dental students felt that they had sufficient knowledge of oral cancer. In a positive light, most of the respondents had the desire for more knowledge.…”

“…Therefore, their knowledge of oral cancer needs to be constantly upgraded. Studies conducted on oral cancer knowledge and awareness among dental and medical students are well documented across various countries but few such studies have been carried out in Malaysian public universities. Moreover, GLOBOCAN 2018 prediction data shows an overall increase in the incidence and mortality of cancer of the lip and oral cavity by 2040 for most of the South‐East Asian countries.…”

Awareness of Undergraduate Dental Students at Taibah University toward Early Detection of Oral Cancer

“…Similarly, in Malaysia 96.7%, in Carter and Ogden 72.46%, and in Shimla/India 89.7% of dental students affirmatively replied that they do routine oral mucosa examination. Additionally, our results are comparable to results by Brzak, Awan & Fotedar et al [6][7][8] who reported that the majority of dental students under study routinely examine oral mucosa) [7][8][9]. In the present study, the majority of students were able to identify tobacco (95.7%) as the principal risk factor for oral cancer.…”

“…Unfortunately, almost more than half of the students (51.5%) did not recognize human papillomavirus (HPV) or alcohol consumption as evolving oral cancer risk factors. The same trend was reported in Malaysia, where 84.4% of dental identified tobacco consumption as a risk factor for oral cancer, but lesser percentage was going for alcohol consumption 35% [8]. In accordance with our results, a previous study was done to assess oral cancer awareness of Romanian undergraduate dental students; they found that 96.8% recognized tobacco as the first oral cancer risk factor, unlike our results a higher percentage was found for previous oral cancer lesion (85.1%), and alcohol consumption (77.7%) [10].…”