AWARENESS OF ORAL CANCER AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS; CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY AT A TERTIARY DENTAL CARE CENTRE

Background The role of dentists is of prime importance in the early detection of oral cancer which would result in a favourable outcome for the patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the awareness regarding oral cancer among undergraduate students of a tertiary dental care centre in Kerala. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among the undergraduate students and house surgeons using a self administered questionnaire comprising of 13 questions to assess the awareness related to risk factors, clinical presentation, and treatment options. Data was entered in MS Excel and analyzed using SPSS software version 22. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data and percentage of students responding to various options in questions. Association between variables was assessed by Chi square test. P<0.05 was considered signicant. Results: A total of 184 dental students responded to the questionnaire. Most of them were well aware of the risk factors, clinical presentation and prevention of oral cancer. Signicantly more number of nal year students and house surgeons were condent in identication of OPMD than second and third year students. 97.3% of students said they need additional training in oral cancer screening and biopsy. 94.6% respondents were aware that HPV can cause oral cancer. Conclusions: The participants of the study had adequate knowledge of risk factors, clinical presentation and prevention of oral cancer. However, majority of students requested for additional information on oral cancer screening and biopsy