Evaluation of general dentists’ knowledge about oral cancer in Ilam, Iran in 2016

Oral cancer is the sixth most common malignant neoplasm and one of the top ten causes of death worldwide. Dentists’ lack of knowledge about the signs and symptoms of oral cancer is an important for diagnosing the oral cancer accurately and at early stages. In this study, we examined the level of dentists’ awareness toward oral cancer in Ilam, Iran.

A total of 98 dentists (65 males and 33 females) with average age of 35.57±7.9 years were invited to take part in the study and respond to suitably designed questionnaires. Data were collected and a possible relationship between age and knowledge score was further analyzed.

The maximum awareness score that respondents could attain was 13. The mean score was 8.14 ± 1.8, which was higher than the national average level. The average scores for men and women were 7.58 ± 2.1 and 8.46 ± 1.5, respectively. But, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.1).There was no statistically significant relationship between age and knowledge score (P = 0.3, r = -0.11).In addition, knowledge score in different age groups were compared, and there was no significant difference (P = 0.5).

Results of this study indicated that dentists’ awareness about oral cancer is higher than average in Ilam; however, the need for educational programs for increasing the level of knowledge about oral cancer is recommended.