An online survey to examine the dental students awareness, knowledge, prevention and early detection of oral cancer

Abstract

Background: Although oral cancer is known to be particularly aggressive and to have a poor prognosis, early detection is often connected with a better outlook. Consequently, the purpose of this research was to evaluate dental students' and interns' understanding of oral cancer prevention strategies and practices, as well as their motivations for engaging in such efforts. Material and Methods: The dental interns and undergraduates in their last years of the dental school participated in a cross-sectional questionnaire study. All eligible participants (N = 300) were asked to fill out a 48-item questionnaire on oral cancer prevention and early detection. The questionnaire was broken down into four parts covering demographic information, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes. Results: The percentage of people who answered the survey was 65% (N = 300). Interns outperformed dentistry school freshmen by a substantial margin (P = 0.05) on tests of both knowledge and attitude. Some people avoid being screened for oral cancer because they feel they do not have the knowledge, skills, self-assurance, or time to do so effectively. Conclusions: The majority of those polled in this research seemed to lack the necessary knowledge and abilities in mouth cancer prevention and early detection, but they had high levels of desire and a positive outlook toward oral cancer preventive education.

Keywords

• attitude
• dental students
• early diagnosis
• etiological factors
• knowledge
• oral cancer
• practice