Knowledge of Brazilian dentists about oral cancer

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge level of dentists about oral cancer (OC) in Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil. Material and Methods: It was an observational, transversal, descriptive and analytical study. It was applied 200 structured forms. The sample was chosen for convenience. Statistical associations were performed using the Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests (P<0.05). Results: Of the 200 interviewed dentists, 66% (n=132) were women, the prevalent age group was 21-40 years (49.5%), 47% work at the private sector and 39% concluded their graduation 20 years ago. Oral squamous cell carcinoma was cited as the most common histopathologic type of OC (65.5%), and the most common anatomical site of OC was tongue (53.4%). The main risk factors cited for the developing of OC were licit and/or illicit drugs (99%), heredity (75.9%), dental problems (74.9%) and sun exposure (74.4%). There was a significant statistically association between the variables tobacco and/or alcohol use and gender of the dentists (P=0.001), between the knowledge level about OC and its histopathologic type and the more affected anatomical site (p=0.012 and p=0.034, respectively). Conclusion: The level of knowledge of dentists about OC is still insufficient for the performance of early diagnosis. Therefore, further discussions about this theme in dentistry schools should be conducted in order to train qualified professionals for this type of diagnosis.