Knowledge and Attitudes of the Dentists Regarding Oral Cancer in Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers in the human body and is a global health concern. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes regarding oral cancer of dentists working in Turkey. METHODS Across-sectional study was carried out in 2019 in Ankara, Turkey. A questionnaire was designed that consisted of dentists' demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices about oral cancer. The questionnaire was distributed to the dentists working at the public oral and dental health care centres in Ankara, Turkey. In the present study, 350 dentists participated. RESULTS Valid questionnaires were attained from 294 dentists. The findings showed that most of the participants were aware of the main risk factors most commonly linked to oral cancer. Only half or fewer of the participants knew the most prevalent type of oral cancer (55.8%) or the most prevalent oral pre-malignant lesion (44.2%). It was found that 70.7% of dentists examined oral mucosa and 47.3% examined head and neck lymph nodes. 66.7% of dentists encountered oral malignant/premalignant lesions in the past and only 10% had training in oral cancers in the past five years. CONCLUSION This study highlights a deficit in knowledge among dentists and the need for training activities concerning the early diagnosis of oral cancer in Turkey. Increasing the dentists' knowledge relating to oral cancer examinations is expected to enhance the detection of the number of oral cancers at an earlier stage.