Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Dental Surgeons towards Tobacco Cessation In Kanpur City.

ABSTRACT

Background & Objective: The prevention and control of tobacco use is an emerging issue of global significance and of central importance to oral health and dental care. The dental profession is in an excellent position to play a major role in several emerging issues, such as helping the public and policymakers understand the chronic nature of tobacco dependence and supporting cessation services for all people. Objective is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of dental surgeons in Kanpur city towards tobacco cessation. Methodology: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among dental surgeons by using self-administered questionnaire with23 closed-ended questions. A total of100 dental practitioners who fulfilled the eligibility criteria, participated in the study. Out of this 85 people returned the filled questionnaire form and the response rate was 85%. Descriptive statistics included computation of percentages. Results: Most of the respondents were male (80%) and had practiced dentistry for 5-10 years (91.8%). All the respondents (100%) had the knowledge of harmful effects of tobacco use. A less percentage (8.3%) used tobacco themselves. All the respondents (100%) did not maintain any records on tobacco use. Most of the respondents (82.4%) provided information on harmful effects of tobacco to less than thirty percent of the patients. Only 48.2% dental surgeons advised users to quit. Conclusion: The results of this study call for sensitizing health professionals on a larger scale on the issue of tobacco use and its treatment.