Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Towards Oral Cancer Among Dental Practitioners in the Northeastern Region of India: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey

Aims: This study aimed to review the overall knowledge of oral cancer based on its clinical presentation as well as associated risk factors, attitudes towards oral cancer examination, and practices among dentists in the northeastern region of India. Methods and materials: A total of 300 dentists practicing in various parts of the northeastern region participated in this online cross-sectional study. A questionnaire consisting of 26 questions was mailed to the dentists requesting them to fill in the survey form. Based on their responses, knowledge of the risk factors of oral cancer, information on attitudes towards oral cancer examination, and clinical practices were attained. Statistical analysis: The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 (Released 2013; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Descriptive statistics was used for demographic variables. Unpaired t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare the mean knowledge scores with demographic variables. The level of significance was set at P<0.05. Results: Overall, the knowledge of the risk factors of oral cancer was low among dentists. The majority were not familiar with the proper physical oral examination steps and considered oral medicine specialists to have a vital role. Conclusions: This study revealed areas in which the knowledge, attitudes, and practices were good to below average and identified areas where improvement is required. Gaps in dentists' knowledge of oral cancer could be identified; dentists displayed substandard knowledge of the clinical presentation as well as risk factors of oral potentially malignant disorders.