Questionnaire-based study related to the level of awareness and knowledge about oral cancer among Turkish patients with dental diseases in 2018

BACKGROUND AND AIM: In this study, the awareness and knowledge level of oral cancer (OC) was assessed among a group of patients with dental problems in Turkey. METHODS: 509 individuals at the ages of ≥18 years, who attended to School of Dentistry of the Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey, were included in the study. To assess the respondents’ awareness and knowledge of OC, a self-administered questionnaire with 30 items was used. Some socio-demographic characteristics and smoking/alcohol habits of respondents were also asked. The data were analyzed by calculating percentages, frequency distributions, and chi-square test to assess significance. The statistical significance level was set at P < 0.050. RESULTS: In total, 61.9% of the respondents were informed of OC with no significant differences by sex (P = 0.660). Only 31.6% of the respondents reported knowledge on OC. The respondents who claimed to have some knowledge about OC, identified non-healing ulcer as early sign and smoking as risk factor as 35.4% and 48.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated an overall insufficiency of awareness and knowledge concerning OC among the subjects among a group of Turkish people with dental problems. It is recommended that effective health education programs be emphasized for the recognition of OC in Turkey.