Oral Cancer Knowledge among Patients Attending Mashhad Dental School, Iran

Objectives:

   Oral cancer is a public health priority, with almost 130,000 deaths worldwide, annually. Its major risk factors are smoking and alcohol consumption .The most important factor in patient's survival is early detection of disease. Promotion of people knowledge has an important role in early detection and patient's survival.The purpose of this study was to assess awareness and knowledge about oral cancer among patients attending to Mashhad dental school ,Iran.

Methods:

   We assessed  320 patients using a written questionnaire. The questionnaire included 17 questions about oral cancer risk factors, diagnostic signs and symptoms, epidemiology and treatment of disease. After data collection we performed statistic analysis using t-student, Mann Whitney, kruskal-wallis and Friedman tests. (a=0.05)

Results:

   Oral cancer knowledge level among most of patients (89.4%) was low and awareness of oral cancer etiology was the lowest. 83.8% has no information about oral cancer risk factors. Only 8.8% knew that the most likely sites for oral cancer are border of tongue and floor of mouth. 90.9% didn't know anything about oral cancer treatment.

   The level of knowledge was higher among males (p=0.01). There was no relation between knowledge and sex (p=0.883), age (p=0.052). There was a significant correlation between education level and knowledge score (p<0.001). Medical students and health professionals had the highest knowledge (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

   A considerable knowledge deficit on oral cancer was found among people in this study. To reduce morbidity and mortality, it is necessary to implement training and screening program for public.