Knowledge, opinions, and practices related to oral cancer prevention and oral mucosal examination among dentists in Moldova, Belarus and Armenia: a multi-country cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia are post-Soviet countries with a high rate of heavy smokers and a relatively high age-standardized incidence of oral cancer. However, to our knowledge, there is lack of available information on dentists’ knowledge on prevention of oral cancer in the countries in question. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, opinions, and practices related to oral cancer prevention and oral mucosal examination among dentists in Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia. Methods This was a multi-country, cross-sectional study based on a self-administered questionnaire. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 3534 dentists (797 in Chisinau, Moldova, 1349 in Minsk, Belarus, and 1388 in Yerevan, Armenia). Dentists' knowledge about risk factors for oral cancer development and its clinical picture, current practices and opinions with regard to oral mucosal screening and oral cancer prevention, and their consistency to perform oral mucosal examination were assessed. A knowledge score ranging from 0 to 14 points was generated based on each dentist’s answer to the questionnaire. Results A total of 1316 dentists responded, achieving an overall response rate of 37.2% (34.5% in Moldova; 52.3% in Belarus; 24.2% in Armenia). Most dentists in the three countries correctly identified tobacco (83.8–98.2%) and prior oral cancer lesions (84.0–96.3%) as risk factors for oral cancer. Most dentists correctly identified leukoplakia as a lesion with malignant potential (68.7% in Moldova; 88.5% in Belarus; 69.9% in Armenia), while erythroplakia was identified by much fewer in all three countries. Less than 52% of dentists identified the tongue, rim of tongue, and floor of mouth as the most common sites for oral cancer. The mean knowledge score for all countries combined was 7.5 ± 2.7. The most commonly reported barriers to perform oral mucosal examination were lack of training, knowledge, and experience. Conclusions This study highlights the need for improved oral cancer-related education and training on oral mucosal examination for dentists in Moldova, Belarus, and Armenia. Such skills are essential to enhance oral cancer prevention and to improve the prognostic outcome by early detection.

Knowledge, Practice, and Awareness of Oral Cancer and HPV Infection among Dental Students and Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The need for additional information was recognized by more than 96% of participants in the present study, and among the forms of continuous medical training, the practical form was mentioned by most students (65.1% of the fifth year students and 57.1% of the fourth year students). In other similar studies, students and dentists asked for further information of workshop types [16,29,36] or the attendance of supplementary training courses [37].…”

“…The questionnaire used in this study was designed after an extended review of the literature [16,21,24,[27][28][29], and it was adequate for the study's purpose, namely the assessment of knowledge and attitude towards the practice and primary prevention of oral cancer, in general, and the HPV infection, in particular.…”

Cáncer Oral: Conocimiento, Actitudes y Prácticas de los Odontologos de la Provincia de Salta, Argentina, 2018

“…Se encontró que los conocimientos y prácticas sobre el cáncer oral y su detección temprana son mejores en otras latitudes. En Kuwait, 95 % de los odontólogos recién graduados saben que el consumo de tabaco y de alcohol son los factores de riesgo más importantes, 94,2 % que el carcinoma escamocelular es la forma más común de cáncer oral, 93,5 % que tanto la lengua como el piso de boca son los sitios más comunes de aparición del cáncer oral y 91,6 % que las lesiones premalignas más comunes son la eritroplasia y la leucoplasia (Nazar et al, 2022), de manera similar reportó un estudio realizado en odontólogos de tres países de Europa del Este: Moldovia, Bielorrusia y Armenia, donde el conocimiento por los factores riesgo oscilo entre 83,8 % y 98,2 %, sobre las lesiones premalignas 84 % y 96,3 % (Golburean et al, 2021). En Canadá, por ejemplo, 92,4 % creen estar adecuadamente capacitados para reconocer los primeros signos y síntomas del cáncer oral pero solo 35,4 % de los encuestados se sentía adecuadamente capacitado para obtener muestras de biopsia de lesiones sospechosas (Aldossri et al, 2020).…”

“…En países asiáticos como Indonesia, los conocimientos de los odontólogos son inferiores a los del presente estudio, por ejemplo, solo la mitad demuestran conocimientos adecuados sobre signos tempranos de cáncer oral y de lesiones premalignas como la eritroplasia y la leucoplasia (Wimardhani et al, 2021); también en países como Emiratos Árabes Unidos (Hashim et al, 2018) y de Europa del Este (Golburean et al, 2021), los conocimientos son deficientes acerca de la localización más común del cáncer oral, la presentación clínica del mismo y sobre la realización de una biopsia. En el presente estudio la mayoría de los odontólogos responden satisfactoriamente.…”

Análise da cobertura de saúde bucal e práticas das equipes de saúde bucal na atenção primária em municípios sul-mato-grossenses

“…A maioria dos profissionais nunca realizou uma biópsia da mucosa oral ao longo de sua carreira, encaminhando, portanto, o paciente suspeito a um especialista em cirurgia oral ou um patologista oral com treinamento avançado para a realização desse procedimento 19 .…”