Awareness of Oral Cancer among Patients at a Tertiary Dental Care Center

Awareness of etiology and clinical presentation of oral cancer among general population would help in the early detection of oral cancer and a favorable outcome for the patients. The aim of the present study was to assess the awareness regarding oral cancer among patients of a tertiary dental care center.

A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among patients of a tertiary dental care center using a self-administered questionnaire comprising of 18 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 28. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data and percentage of patients responding to various options in questions. Association between variables was assessed by chi-square test. A p -value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

A total of 325 dental patients responded to the questionnaire. Tobacco smoking and chewing were identified well as risk factors by almost all respondents; however, alcohol, human papillomavirus, and poor oral hygiene were less identified. Statistically significant differences were observed in the people's awareness of oral cancer based on various sociodemographic variables.

The patients had a basic awareness of oral cancer. However, they had limited knowledge on risk factors other than tobacco. Knowledge has to be improved on risk factors other than tobacco. Patient's level of awareness also varied based on socioeconomic differences among them. Oral cancer awareness programs conducted at the primary health center level may ensure proper awareness in the general population which could enable prevention and/or early detection of such conditions.