Oral cancer awareness among dental students in a private university setting

There is a great deal of research on the awareness of students and professionals regarding oral cancer. The aim of this study was to find out students' opinions in their final years of dental school training who have clinic time about the importance of correct mucosal examination of the oral cavity.

A cross-sectional study was carried out and a questionnaire was designed and distributed to fourth- and fifth-year dental students. The questionnaire included demographic aspects of the participants and five closed questions related to the importance given to the exploration of the soft tissues during patient visits, the importance of the university training received, their interest in continuing education on this subject, their role as dentists in early diagnosis and whether they consider themselves prepared to diagnose oral cancer.

A total of 214 undergraduate dental students participated in the study, 24.3% fourth year and 75.7% fifth year. Moreover, 97.7% of the students considered soft tissue examination to be important or very important, 90.2% of the students surveyed considered the university training received to be important or very important and 66.4% of the students considered that the most qualified professional to diagnose an oral lesion is the dentist.

In this study, most of the students felt that graduate training in oral cancer is important, as well as soft tissue examination. In addition, the majority considered that the professional most indicated to diagnose oral lesions is the dentist. However, a very small percentage felt prepared to diagnose oral cancer themselves.