Knowledge of future dental practitioners towards oral cancer: exploratory findings from a public university in Malaysia

Objective. To assess knowledge and awareness of oral cancer in the early identification of risk factors among undergraduate dental students. Methods. A total of 162 undergraduate (third, fourth, and fifth year) dental students at International Islamic University, Malaysia, were approached to parti...

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Main Authors: Bhagavathula, Akshaya Srikanth, Zakaria, Nazrin, Jamshed, Shazia Qasim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2015
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Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/48886/1/Knowledge_of_Future_Dental_Practitioners_towards_Oral_Cancer_Exploratory_Findings_from_a_Public_University_in_Malaysia.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/48886/
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijd/2015/218065/
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Summary:Objective. To assess knowledge and awareness of oral cancer in the early identification of risk factors among undergraduate dental students. Methods. A total of 162 undergraduate (third, fourth, and fifth year) dental students at International Islamic University, Malaysia, were approached to participate in the study, and those who agreed were administered. A 9-item pretested questionnaire contains questions on oral examination, oral cancer risk factors, and requests for further information. Descriptive statistics were conducted using chi-square testing. Results. The response rate of the study was 70.3% (114/162), with 26 (22.8%) males and 88 (77.2%) females. All undergraduate dental students were familiar with examining the oral mucosa of their patients and most were likely to advise patients about the risk factors for developing oral cancer (98.2%). Nearly one-third (32.4%) of students reported examining patients with oral lesions as early signs for oral cancer (