Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
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The aim of this survey was to examine the dentists' awareness on major health risks associated with smoking and their opinions on factors that influence tobacco use.
The study was based in information collected through a questionnaire, which was distributed among 100 randomly selected general dentists who were practicing in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. A response rate of 100% was obtained. A majority of the respondents (55%) related friends' circle as most frequently
factor in the habit of smoking 21% agreed that stress was the main factor. A majority of the respondents (84%) related lung cancer to smoking. However the association with other general risk factors were least reported (30%). Only 54% of the dentists agreed that smoking was the important cause of premature death.
Most of the dentists associated tobacco use with bad breath (80%) and 68% of the dentists reported that smokers had increased risk of oral cancer while 55% associated it with loss or periodontal attachment.
Only 17% of the dentists agreed that the main oral change associated with smoking was leukoplakia and 65% associated it with smoker's palate.
study revealed a significant lack of awareness among the general dentists of Kanpur with respect to serious health consequencies of smoking.