C.E. Credit. Assessment of Pre-Doctoral Dental Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs of HPV-Related Diseases and Vaccination Trends

ABSTRACTBackground The dental team is uniquely positioned to prevent HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC-HPV) and other HPV-related diseases. Provider educational interventions may accelerate HPV vaccinations and decrease OPSCC-HPV rates.Methods Surveys before and after educational interventions were deployed. Year 1 – Year 4 students at WesternU College of Dental Medicine completed 129 pre- and 109 posttest surveys. Statistical analyses were conducted utilizing two-sided Crosstab Chi-square tests assessing pre- and post-survey responses. P-value <.05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results Knowledge levels of HPV-related diseases varied amongst cohorts, but improved post – intervention. Knowledge and preparedness for discussing high-risk HPV risk factors and vaccination increased amongst all cohorts. Understanding the importance of oral healthcare providers administering HPV vaccines in the dental office setting (69.8% vs 87.3%, p = .0068) was significant post-intervention.Conclusions After educational interventions, dental students reported they were capable of discussing and administering HPV vaccinations. Dentists should consider administering HPV vaccinations to reduce incidence of OPSCC-HPV and HPV-related diseases.Practical Implications Dental teams can prevent OPSCC-HPV by educating patients about disease’s risk factors and promoting HPV vaccination. HPV vaccinations in dental settings could improve HPV vaccination rates and decrease development of HPV-related diseases including OPSCC-HPV.Continuing Education Credit Available: The practice worksheet is available online in the supplementary material tab for this article. A CDA Continuing Education quiz is online for this article: https://www.cdapresents360.com/learn/catalog/view/20