Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of General Dentists Regarding Oral Cancer in Sari, Iran

Background: Oral cancer has emerged as a significant cause of global public health concern. If a cancerous lesion is diagnosed in primary stages, the survival rate would be higher. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practice of general dentist regarding oral cancer in Sari, Iran. Methods: This cross sectional analytical study was performed on general dentists of Sari, Iran. The dentists were given a questionnaire including demographic characteristics of the dentists and questions about knowledge, attitude and practice regarding oral cancer. Data were subjected to SPSS 18.0. Quantitative data were reported as mean (±SD) and qualitative data were shown as percent. Kolmogorov- Smirnoff sample test, t-test (p<0.07 was considered statistically significant)’ equivalent nonparametric test and Spearman’s rho test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Total mean score of knowledge, mean score of females and mean score of males was 20.88±8.53, 20.96±7.62 and 20.71±10.43, respectively. Age and sex had no correlation with score of knowledge. Conclusion: Dentists of Sari do not have enough knowledge about oral cancer. Key words: Oral cancer; Dentist; Knowledge; Attitude; Practice Please cite this article as: Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of General Dentists Regarding Oral Cancer in Sari, Iran. Iran J Cancer Prev. 2014; 7(2):101-4. References Shrivastava SR, Shrivastava Ps, Ramasamy J. Oral cancer in developing countries. Iranian journal of cancer prevention. 2014; 7(1):58-9. Warnakulasuriya S. Global epidemiology of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Oral Oncol. 2009; 45(4-5):309-16. Baykul T, Yilmaz HH, Aydin U, Aydin MA, Aksoy MC. Early diagnosis of oral cancer. J Int Med Res. 2010; 38(3):737-49. Vazquez-Mayoral EE, Sanchez-Perez L, Olgun-Barreto Y, Acosta-Gio AE. Mexican dental school deans’ opinions and practices regarding oral cancer, 2007. J Dent Educ. 2008; 72(12): 1481-7. Ariyawardana A, Sitheeque M, Ranasinghe A, Perera I, Tilakaratne W, Amaratunga E, et al. Prevalence of oral cancer and pre-cancer and associated risk factors among tea estate workers in the central Sri Lanka. J Oral Pathol Med. 2007; 36:581-7. Petersen PE. Oral cancer prevention and control – The approach of the World Health Organization. Oral Oncol. 2009; 45:454-60. Farah C, McCullough M. Oral cancer awareness for the general practitioner: new approaches to patient care. Aust Dent J. 2008; 53:2-10. Scully C, Bagan J. Oral squamous cell carcinoma overview. Oral Oncol. 2008; 30(4):259-64. Neville BW, Day TA. Oral cancer and precancerous lesions. CA Cancer J Clin. 2002; 52:195-215. 10. Clovis BJ, Horowitz AM, Poel DH. Oral and pharyngeal cancer: knowledge and opinions and practices of dental hygienists in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. J Can Dent Assoc. 2002; 68(7):415-20. 11. Motallebnejad M, Hedayati M. General dentists’ knowledge about oral cancer in Babol. Journal of Mashhad Dental School. 2006; 30:309-18. 12. Guiseppe C, Giovanni M, Moscariello A. Oral cancer and dentist: knowledge, attitude and practice in Italy. Oral Oncol. 2008; 44:393-9. 13. Canto MT, Horowitz AM, Child WL. Maryland family physicians knowledge of oral cancer. Oral Oncol. 2002; 38(5):416-24. 14. Seoane J, Warnakulasuriya S, Varela-Centelles P, Esparza G. Oral cancer: experience and diagnostic abilities elicited by dentists in North-Western Spain. Oral dis. 2006; 12:487-92. 15. Gajendra S, Cruz G, Kumar J. Oral cancer prevention and early detection: knowledge, practices and opinions of oral health care providers in New York State. J Cancer Educ. 2006; 21(3):157-62.