بررسی میزان آگاهی دندان پزشکان در ارتباط با سرطان دهان در ساری- ایران در سال 1391

Background and purpose: Oral cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers and the 10 most causes of death in the world. Most oral cancers are diagnosed at late stages. Thus, it is an important public health problem in the world. Since dentists play a critical role of oral cancers, they should be knowledgeable and skillful in oral cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of general dentists about oral cancer in Sari. Material and methods: This descriptive analytical cross-sectional study was done on 150 dentists who had private offices in Sari in 2013. A questionnaire including the information and 13 questions regarding oral cancer was prepared. The questionnaires were delivered to dentists at their offices and then gathered. The data were analyzed via SPSS software student's t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: There were 98 male and 52 female dentists with the mean age of 39.94±7.24 years (P=0.09). The mean score of total dentists' knowledge was 7.27±2.49 out of 13. The mean score of knowledge was 6.91±2.37 and 7.78±2.6, for males and females, respectively. There was significant difference between them (P=0.03). Ninety-One percent of dentists knew the most common types of oral cancer. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that knowledge of dentists in Sari about oral cancer was not sufficient. Because of the importance of the issue, the application of strategies to increase the knowledge of dentists regarding oral cancer is necessary.