Assessment of oral cancer awareness among dentists in Tunisia: A cross-sectional study

Oral cancer is an increasing global health problem, and its early diagnosis is of great importance. Worldwide, several studies have assessed dentists' knowledge and practices regarding oral cancer. However, there is a lack of available data on this subject in Tunisia.

This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to oral cancer among dentists in Tunisia.

This was a cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 350 dentists (255 females, 72.9%; 95 males, 27.1%) practicing in both public and private sectors across different regions of Tunisia. The mean age of participants was 30 years (range: 24-49), and their professional experience varied from less than 5 years to more than 20 years. Dentists' knowledge about risk factors and clinical presentations of oral cancer development, and their current practices were assessed. Associations between knowledge levels and sex, seniority, specialty, type of practice, and sources of information were examined using the χ² test and Fisher's exact test.

The majority of participants identified tobacco (93.4%) and alcohol consumption (45.4%) as major risk factors for oral cancer. Oral medicine university specialists aged under 40 years had the best scores in identifying the floor of the mouth as the most common site for oral cancer, erythroplakia and leukoplakia as the most likely potentially malignant lesions, and squamous cell carcinoma as the most common histological type.

Dentists have a crucial role in the early detection of oral cancer. This study revealed important gaps in Tunisian dentists' knowledge, particularly regarding risk factors beyond tobacco and alcohol, and highlighted the need to strengthen educational strategies for oral cancer detection and prevention.