Key Points
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Respondents generally believed that they should encourage their patients to stop smoking, and that oral health problems and oral cancer were major motivating factors in encouraging smokers to stop smoking.
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About a third more dentists routinely recorded their patients' smoking status in 2001 than in 1996 but the final proportion was still less than half of all dentists. Only a quarter always raised the subject with smokers.
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Less than half of respondents believed that dentists are effective in helping patients stop smoking although most believed that doctors were effective.
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Very few respondents reported a good knowledge of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and about half requested more training and resources.
Abstract
Objectives To investigate dentists' current beliefs and practices (2001) with respect to smoking cessation interventions and any changes that might have occurred since the last survey in 1996.
Design Postal questionnaire survey
Setting General dental practitioners on the health authority lists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
Results A response rate of 71% (696/984) was achieved. The majority of dentists (88.6%) thought that dentists should encourage their patients to stop smoking (increase of 6.3% since 1996; 95%CI 2.6, 10.2; p=0.001), although only 42.2% believed dentists were effective in this area (non-significant increase of 4.8% since 1996). Only 48.4% routinely recorded their patient's smoking status (increase of 30.3% since 1996; 95%CI 25.4, 34.9; p<0.001) and only 26.9% always discussed the habit with smokers (increase of 9.5% since 1996; 95%CI 5.1, 13.9; p<0.001). Less than 10% reported a good knowledge of NRT or Bupropion. About half of respondents requested more training and resources.
Conclusions Dentists generally have positive attitudes to being involved in smoking cessation interventions, but although there are significant increases between 1996 and the current survey, few are active in this area. More training and resources may encourage dentists to be more proactive in helping their patients to stop smoking.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Professor Godfrey Fowler (Emeritus Professor of General Practice, University of Oxford) who initiated the first survey and are grateful for his helpful suggestions for this follow-up study.
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John, J., Thomas, D. & Richards, D. Smoking cessation interventions in the Oxford region: changes in dentists' attitudes and reported practices 1996–2001. Br Dent J 195, 270–275 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4810480
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4810480
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