Evaluation of Smoking Cessation Advice in Dental Practice by Dentists Working in Hail Region, Saudi Arabia

摘要

Objectives: Smoking is one of tlie major risk factors for periodontal diseases, oral and lung cancers, and other respiratory diseases. Mortality because of smoking is reported to be more than any other risk factors. Dentists can play a major role in spreading the 'quit-smoking' message because people will visit dentist more compared with physician, hence the present study was planned to evaluate smoking cessation advice in dental practice in Hail city.Material ＆ Methods: It was an observational study, having a cross-sectional design. Face and content validated questionnaire was used to collect the data from licensed dentists working in government and private clinics in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia. Data was displayed as number and percentage. McNemar test was used to measure inferential statistics Using SPSS version 20.Results: The majority of responding dentists (89.3%) have knowledge about the significance of smoking history and its hazards, but a very few collects information from their patients about their smoking habits or warn them about hazards. The greatest obstacle for the dentists in smoking cessation expedition is lack of time and training.Conclusion: Dentists with some training in this regard may become a very effective tool to disseminate the quit-smoking and oral health message in Hail, and across Saudi Arabia.