Dental Student Attitudes toward Tobacco Cessation Counseling

Tobacco use increases the risk for oral diseases including oral cancer and periodontitis. Accordingly, tobacco cessation and tobacco

cessation counseling are important in the prevention of both oral and systemic diseases. For the past several years, the predoctoral

curriculum at the University at Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine has included a Tobacco Cessation Counseling Protocol (TCCP) in

which students are trained to provide this service to their patients. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate student

attitudes regarding the TCCP. Methods: 120 third and fourth year dental students were asked to complete a written

survey regarding tobacco cessation counseling including barriers to counseling, student-patient relationships, and the students'

confidence in providing tobacco cessation counseling. Results: 85% of the students completed the survey. 99% believed that dentists

should assist their patients in tobacco cessation. 63% of the students were either "very" or "somewhat" confident in assessing and

treating their patient's nicotine dependence and 50% of the students felt that they had sufficient skills to provide tobacco cessation

counseling. Between class years, 55% of fourth year students and 28% of third year students felt they had received adequate training

in tobacco cessation counseling. 81% of third year students were "somewhat confident" in being able to prevent their patients from

starting to use tobacco compared to 52% of fourth year students. Among perceived barriers to tobacco cessation counseling, 83% of

students identified professional fees and 78% identified lack of faculty involvement as important barriers. Conclusions: This study

indicates that dental students participating in the TCCP believe that tobacco cessation counseling is a dentist's professional

responsibility but that both dental students and dental school faculty require additional training.