Tobacco Use Attitudes of General Dentists in Jeddah: Pilot Study

Introduction: There is now world-wide consensus that dentists can and should play an active role in tobacco use prevention and cessation. In a country like Saudi Arabia, where tobacco use is on the rise and public awareness is very low, dentists can certainly provide a great impact in the fight against tobacco. With the widespread use of smokeless tobacco, water-pipes and cigarettes, it is now clear that tobacco use prevention and cessation should be integrated as a mandatory competency outcome in the undergraduate dental curriculum. Aim: To assess the general knowledge and attitude of a representative sample of dentists in Jeddah on tobacco use prevention and cessation. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was formulated after adapting it from others present in the literature; it was pre-tested and was distributed at a Saudi Dental Society Continuous Education lecture. Results: A significant number of dentists doesn't ask (12%) or sometimes asks (25.8%) their patients if they smoke. Of the ones that do, only 49.2% explain the detrimental effects of tobacco use on both their general and oral health. Only 59.4% encourage their patients to quit, and of these 36.5% follow them up. The majority assessed their knowledge on tobacco effects both generally and orally as average (55%) and only 42.4% are confident in advising their patients to quit. Conclusions: This brief pilot study shows that most dentists are aware of the importance of tobacco use prevention and cessation to their practice of dentistry. Most dentists surveyed understand the link between tobacco use and oral health and dental treatment outcomes, but not all of them feel confident enough to play a more active role. This suggests more thorough training at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.