Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Dutch Dentists on Oral Leukoplakia and Their Possible Role in Its Follow-Up

To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Dutch dentists on oral leukoplakia (OL) and to what extent these aspects are related to whether or not dentists regularly monitor patients with OL.

A self-developed questionnaire was distributed via a web survey among a sample of dentists participating in an intervision program. Of 1626 invited dentists, 437 (26.9%) answered the questionnaire; 52.6% were females and 47.4% males, 36.4% were 44 years or younger, 24.0% were 45 to 54 years old and 39.6% were 55 years or older, 94.1% were general dental practitioners, 60.2% were practice owners, and 49.9% work more than 31 hours per week.

In total, 57.0% performed regular follow-up of patients with OL. Compared to dentists who do not perform regular follow-up of patients with OL, those who do were more confident in performing control, were more likely to be practice owners, checked a greater number of oral subsites during dental check-ups, had encountered more cases of suspected oral cancer among their own patients, and were more likely to implement effective policies when faced with mucosal lesions without a clear diagnosis. The vast majority of all participants indicated that their knowledge about oral mucosal diseases, OL, and oral cancer is limited. Just over half reported receiving insufficient education on these topics during their dental study.

It seems that interested dentists who have an affinity for oral mucosal diseases can properly fulfil the controlling and detecting role on selected patients with OL. Additional education on various aspects of OL is required.

In the Netherlands, interested dentists can responsibly follow up on a large proportion of patients with OL.