Methods: A valid and reliable questionnaire was designed and piloted. To assess the practice profile, some questions were developed based on the expected 5A tobacco cessation protocol. Statements on attitudes focused on professional responsibility towards smoking cessation and were analyzed using a five-point Likert scale. 150 dentists were randomly selected from those working in Isfahan-Iran. Chi-square, ANOVA, and t test were used.
Results: 139 valid questionnaires were finally obtained. Most of the dentists were male (62.5%, n=87) and were practicing in private setting (72%). The cessation program in dental settings covers a small group of patients (about 18%). About 69.1% (n=96) of dentists reported to ask their patients about tobacco use. About 86.5% (n=83) of them indicated to advise their patients to quit, 33.8% (n=47) assessed their patients readiness and willingness to quit and just about 20% (n=28) of them reported to help their patients in planning for quit. A far lower percentage reported active involvement in arranging assistance (4.3%, n= 5). There was no significant difference between male and female dentists except for those who asked their patients (82% vs. 60%, P<0.01). Just about 26% of dentists disagreed or strongly disagreed with the tobacco cessation programs as part of dentists' professional responsibility. 40% of dentists believed that encouraging patients to quit would make them feel uncomfortable.
Conclusions: Iranian dentists ask and advise at much higher rates than they assist, assess, and arrange with patients' quit attempts. They indicated that they were not familiar with the clinical guidelines and suggested that lack of training is the major reason for non-adherence. Therefore, planning to encourage dentists to follow the protocol such as conducting continuous educational programs is needed.