IADR Abstract Archives
Educational Intervention on Oropharyngeal Cancer Prevention for Undergraduate Dental Students
Objectives: To increase dental student's level of knowledge about risk factors associated with oropharyngeal cancer (OPC).
To train dental students on how to apply a head and neck examination as a clinical tool for early detection of lesions.
Methods: The pilot program was offered as an elective course at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Baja California (UABC) in Tijuana, Mexico. After consent, 60 dental students were recruited. A 44 item survey assessment tool, designed to measure level of knowledge about risk factors and preventive attitudes towards OPC prevention, was aministered before and after the educational intervention using REDCap®. Delivery of course content was primarily through Blackboard®. Data was analyzed with IBM® SPSS® statistics version 26.
Results: In regards to knowledge of risk factors associated with OPC, it's important to mention some of the most significant changes. Before the intervention 40.7% of participants identified alcohol as a risk factor of OPC, compared to 90.6% after 50.9% identified oral sex as a risk factor at the start of the program, as opposed to 92.7% after. Deficient oral higiene was identified by only 56.9%, and increased to 76.5% after the course. In relation to how prepared they felt to perform head and neck examinations for early detection of lesions, participants were asked to rate their skills from 0-100. At the beginning of the program the group mean was 44 and after the intervention it increased to 71.
With reference to the frequency in which they performed head and neck examination to their patients, before the course 58.3% said during the first appointment, 36.7% sometimes and 3.3% answered never. After the program, 70% of the participants responded during the first appointment, 25% sometimes, 3.3% in each visit and 1.7% said never.
Conclusions: Future oral health professionals need to be adequately trained to prevent oral and oropharyngeal cancer, as it represents an area of opportunity in which not only could they help their patients identify and avoid risk factors related to this disease, but also be the first to detect any suspicious lesions via routine head and neck examinations.
This educational intervention could serve as a model for other dental schools or continuing education centers, in order to incorporate this important topic in their curriculum.
To train dental students on how to apply a head and neck examination as a clinical tool for early detection of lesions.
Methods: The pilot program was offered as an elective course at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Baja California (UABC) in Tijuana, Mexico. After consent, 60 dental students were recruited. A 44 item survey assessment tool, designed to measure level of knowledge about risk factors and preventive attitudes towards OPC prevention, was aministered before and after the educational intervention using REDCap®. Delivery of course content was primarily through Blackboard®. Data was analyzed with IBM® SPSS® statistics version 26.
Results: In regards to knowledge of risk factors associated with OPC, it's important to mention some of the most significant changes. Before the intervention 40.7% of participants identified alcohol as a risk factor of OPC, compared to 90.6% after 50.9% identified oral sex as a risk factor at the start of the program, as opposed to 92.7% after. Deficient oral higiene was identified by only 56.9%, and increased to 76.5% after the course. In relation to how prepared they felt to perform head and neck examinations for early detection of lesions, participants were asked to rate their skills from 0-100. At the beginning of the program the group mean was 44 and after the intervention it increased to 71.
With reference to the frequency in which they performed head and neck examination to their patients, before the course 58.3% said during the first appointment, 36.7% sometimes and 3.3% answered never. After the program, 70% of the participants responded during the first appointment, 25% sometimes, 3.3% in each visit and 1.7% said never.
Conclusions: Future oral health professionals need to be adequately trained to prevent oral and oropharyngeal cancer, as it represents an area of opportunity in which not only could they help their patients identify and avoid risk factors related to this disease, but also be the first to detect any suspicious lesions via routine head and neck examinations.
This educational intervention could serve as a model for other dental schools or continuing education centers, in order to incorporate this important topic in their curriculum.