Year : 2020

Volume : Volume 11

Issue : Issue 2

Address for correspondence :
Dr. Abhinav Parakh.
drabhinavphd@gmail.com

Abstract

Background:  To assess the attitude of dental professionals, including the dentist and dental hygienist towards the TCC and identify the possible barriers towards the implementation of these practices in the rural and urban areas of Chitradurga district.   Materials and Methods: The stratified random sampling was employed to select 120 dentists and 120 dental hygienists from the urban and the rural areas of the Chitradurga districts, respectively. The study tool comprised of the closed-ended multiple-choice questionnaire in the local language which was personally administered. Results: The regular users of the tobacco were higher among the dental hygienist (24.5%) as compared to the dentist (14.2%). However, the attitude of the dental professionals was negative towards the equal priority of the tobacco cessation counselling over the dental treatment in dental practice.  Conclusion: Dental professionals are uniquely poised to contribute to the battle against tobacco use. When tobacco users receive a consistent anti-tobacco message from a variety of health care providers, the likelihood of success in the battle to quit is increased.

Keywords: Tobacco cessation, oral cancer, primary prevention, health promotion, dental professionals.