[Oral cancer awareness of physicians and dentists in the Israeli army]

Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 2-3% of all body malignancies. The aim of this study was to asses the knowledge and awareness of general practitioners and the dental practitioners in the Israeli army to OSCC. Israeli's defense force's medical corps's dentists and physicians took part in this study. A questionnaire was constructed to obtain information about: Demographics, Knowledge concerning signs, symptoms and risk factors of oral cancer, Attitude on referral and knowledge transfer to patients, Satisfaction and need for farther guidance on the subject. The questionnaire was sent via E mail to all army physicians and dentists. 80% of the dentists and 35% of the physicians replayed. According to our study there is a knowledge gap between physicians and dentists in several areas: Physicians showed less awareness to the disease therefore, are less likely to do regular oral examinations. Physicians had less information about risk factors (especially alcohol) and are less likely to pass information about the risk factors to their patients. Suspicious lesions in the oral cavity were less recognized as such by physicians. This study shows the need to strengthen physicians' knowledge and awareness concerning oral cancer.