RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to assess knowledge and opinions related to oral cancer screening among dentists employed in public sector dental services in Sri Lanka. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of a total of 1,020 dentists employed in the public sector dental services as at December 2007. The data were collected by means of a postal questionnaire consisting of 23 items focusing on demographic characteristics, knowledge and opinions about screening for oral cancer/precancer. RESULTS: 387 completed questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 38%. The overall knowledge score for oral cancer screening was 2.79. There were no significant differences between time since graduation, position held and knowledge scores. Around 68-70% of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that their knowledge about oral cancer/pre cancer was current. Though 77% agreed/strongly agreed that dentists are adequately trained in oral cancer screening, nearly 63% disagreed/strongly disagreed that medical officers are adequately trained to perform oral screening. Nearly 81% agreed/strongly agreed that they were adequately trained in oral cancer screening whilst 70% also felt that they needed further training in oral cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS: the results revealed that a fairly large proportion of respondents were knowledgeable about oral cancer screening but as there was a reasonable percentage whose knowledge about oral cancer screening was poor there is a need for continuing education programmes.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To assess awareness about oral cancer and precancer among patients attending for dental treatment at a University Dental hospital. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from 410 randomly selected outpatients attended the Dental Hospital (teaching), Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. The questionnaire included questions to ascertain information on socio-demographic parameters, awareness of oral cancer and precancer, habits of betel chewing, smoking and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: Ninety five percent of the respondents were aware of the possibility of occurrence of cancer in the mouth while only 44.9% (n=184) were aware about precancer. Of the 390 individuals who were aware of the existence of oral cancer, 80.7% were knowledgeable about the causal relationship between betel chewing habit and oral cancer. Forty-seven and 17 percent were aware of links with tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption, respectively. However, out of those who had knowledge of oral cancer, 18 % (n=69) were not knowledgeable about associations with habits. CONCLUSIONS: This survey revealed that the patients attending the hospital were well informed about oral cancer. However, awareness about precancer was relatively low. Knowledge about the causal relationships with tobacco smoking and use of alcohol was low compared to that for betel chewing.