A Survey of the Attitude and Performance of Isfahan Dentists in Relation to Tobacco-cessation Interventions in 2018

Dentists are effective in motivating and helping patients quit smoking. Considering the importance of this subject, this study aimed to assess the attitudes and performance of dentists in Isfahan in relation to tobacco-cessation interventions in 2018.

This study used a quantitative and survey approach. The statistical population of the study consisted of dentists in Isfahan (n = 100), who were selected using the cluster sampling method. The data collection tool was the standard Patel questionnaire. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire have been confirmed abroad. Confirmation of the translated version was made by the Faculty members, and its reliability was confirmed with Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.87). Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and means) and deductive statistics (independent t-test, one-sample t-test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient) were used. The data were analyzed with SPSS 22 (α = 0.05).

Most dentists (i.e., 72%) were male and the rest were female. The majority of the subjects (i.e., 52%) were < 35 years of age. The lack of acceptance by the patients, lack of interest, and lack of information and sufficient training (with means values of 2.97, 2.86, and 2.72) were the most important preventing factors. The mean scores of attitude and practice of the dentists were moderate to poor. Gender and age affected attitudes and practice.

The dentists in the present study exhibited moderate to poor attitudes and performance. It appears it is necessary to offer training courses on counselling in relation to smoking cessation to improve the dentists attitudes and performance in this area.