ANALYSIS OF ORAL CANCER AWARENESS AMONG MEDICAL AND DENTAL STUDENTS OF PAKISTAN

Aims and objectives: The main objective of the study is to analyze the knowledge regarding oral cancer awareness among medical and dental students in Pakistan. Material and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in Punjab dental hospital, Lahore during January 2019 to July 2019. The data was collected through a questionnaire. The study included a convenience sample comprising dental students of all basic and clinical year. All the questions were anonymous, participant’s voluntary took part in the study, and consent was taken from them and no incentive was given for completing the survey. Results: The data was collected from 115 medical and dental students. When asked about the examination of oral mucosa of the patients, all the students answered “yes” during their clinical training. Of those who examine the oral mucosa routinely, a high majority of the students (97.3%) would not examine the oral mucosa of the patient with high risk of developing oral cancer. More than ninety percent of the participants preferred to refer patients with oral lesion as a point of care to dental specialties rather than doctors. Conclusion: It is concluded that lack of awareness about the risk factors initiates the need based educational interventions among future dental and medical practitioners regarding early detection and prevention of oral cancer