Oral‐cancer knowledge, practice, and attitude assessment of dentists in Upper Egypt: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of dentists in Upper Egypt with regard to oral cancer (OC). Out of 1,200 licensed dental practitioners list, 424 dentists were randomly selected from three governorates in Upper Egypt (Minia, Assuit, and Sohag). The sample size was calculated using the equation considering the knowledge of dentists about OC, confidence level, and margins of error; then, an additional number of dentists were added to guard against nonresponse. Data were collected by face‐to‐face interview using 44 items divided into four sections; first part demonstrates sociodemographic. The second part concerned with the knowledge about OC clinical presentation and diagnosis (12 multiple‐choice questions) as well as its risk factors (17 close‐end questions). The third part consists of six questions focused on the practice of participants, and finally, the last part measures attitude of dentists. The chi‐square test was used to compare between the two or more proportions. A correlation was used for describing the relationship or association between two mutually numerical dependent variables. p < 0.05 was considered to indicate significance. Rate of response was 94.3%. The overall knowledge level in the current study was 31.8%. The awareness about OC risk factors was high especially, smoking tobacco and alcohol consumption. Also, over 80% of dentists identified family history and human papillomavirus (HPV) as risk factors. Only 37.5% of participants performed regular screening of oral mucosa, and 26.5% reported lymph‐node examination. Regarding attitude, only one quarter of dentists attended continuing educating programs about OC. A statistically significant relation ( p < 0.0001) between knowledge level and most demographic variables was detected. There was a fair positive correlation ( r = 0.47) between practice and knowledge scores. A predominant trouble among dentists in Upper Egypt was regarding OC knowledge and practice. Continues education and training programs are highly recommended.

Oral Cancer Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices among Primary Oral Health Care Dentists in Kuwait

“…In this study, almost all dentists identified tobacco use and alcohol consumption as the two major risk factors for oral cancer occurrence. This was consistent with recent studies; in which majority of dentists recorded similar oral cancer risk factors (Jboor et al, 2019;Khattab et al, 2019). As shown in prior studies, although a large percentage of dental practitioners identified tobacco and alcohol as major risk factors, few of them assessed their patients for alcohol use Gajendra et al, 2006).…”

“…This study was done to assess the oral cancer knowledge, opinions, attitudes and practices among dentists working at the primary oral health care centers in Kuwait. This study's results are comparable to other studies done among similar participants Patton et al, 2005;Gajendra et al, 2006;Applebaum et al, 2009;Joseph et al, 2012;Alaizari and Al-Maweri, 2014;Saleh et al, 2014;Hashim et al, 2018;Jboor et al, 2019;Khattab et al, 2019).…”

“…Several studies have assessed the dentists' knowledge, attitudes, and opinions regarding oral cancer and the early detection of oral cancer Patton et al, 2005;Gajendra et al, 2006;Ariyawardana and Ekanayake, 2008;Applebaum et al, 2009;Joseph et al, 2012;Alaizari and Al-Maweri, 2014;Saleh et al, 2014;Sarabadani et al, 2016;Mariño et al, 2017;Hashim et al, 2018;Jboor et al, 2019;Khattab et al, 2019). These studies showed the necessity to enhance the knowledge on preventing and early detection of oral cancer.…”

Untreated dental caries prevalence and impact on the quality of life among 11 to14-year-old Egyptian schoolchildren: a cross-sectional study

“…This age group has been chosen to carry out this study based on the following aspects; (1) caries rate is higher among children [18], (2) this age group is the WHO target group for dental caries global comparison [14]. Data were gathered through a face-to-face interviews to eschew data missing, reduce information bias and enhance the accuracy of data [19]. The response rate was 87%, this might be related to the use of anonymous CPQ [11][12][13][14] questionnaire which also guarantees the participant's confidentiality.…”

Untreated dental caries prevalence and impact on the quality of life among11 to14-year-old Egyptian schoolchildren: A cross-sectional study

“…This age group has been chosen to carry out this study based on the following aspects; (1) caries rate is higher among children [18], (2) this age group is the WHO target group for dental caries global comparison [13]. Data gathered through a face-to-face interviews to eschew data missing, reduce information bias and enhance the accuracy of data [19].…”