Tobacco Use History Taking: Truth Revealed from Dental Records Audits

Introduction: Tobacco use and dependence is an increasingly bigger problem in most developing countries. It is not only a health concern, but an enormous financial burden.Tobacco use in Arab countries follows a different pattern than most Western countries on account of their distinct cultural circumstances. Dental schools should be viewed as beacons of proactive initiatives in the fight against tobacco dependence, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where awareness of the detrimental effects of tobacco is still a fleeting reality among the vast majority of the population. Aim: To assess if “tobacco use history” is an essential part of dental record keeping in King Abdulaziz University. Materials and Methods: 494 Dental Records were audited out of 9880 records opened in the past 2 years. Records were audited for tobacco use history (patient asked if he/she smokes, since when, what type and the frequency) and for treatment initiation. Results: Most patients were asked whether they smoke or not (73%), however, only 2% were asked since when, 4.2% were asked the frequency and 16% were asked what type. Of the known sample, the most likely dentists to ask were students (25.5%) followed by interns (13%), faculty members (2%) and GPs (1.2%). Conclusions: Our results show that dental students are the most conscientious in asking their patients whether they are tobacco users or not. However, very few delve on more accurate information of the patient's tobacco habits. This shows that, while most students are aware of the importance of asking about the presence of such habit, their lack of a thorough assessment seems to suggest that they are yet to acknowledge the clear link between tobacco use and dental health.