ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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Year : 2015 | Volume
: 13
| Issue : 3 | Page : 254-258 |
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Awareness on smoking cessation counseling among dentists in Kerala, India
Benley George1, Vinod Mathew Mulamoottil1, Sunu Alice Cherian1, Jacob John2, T Aby Mathew3, Shibu Thomas Sebastian1
1 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pushpagiri College of Dental Sciences, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India 2 Department of Orthodontics, Pushpagiri College of Dental Sciences, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India 3 Department of Prosthodontics, Pushpagiri College of Dental Sciences, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India
Correspondence Address:
Benley George Department of Public Health Dentistry, Pushpagiri College of Dental Sciences, Medicity, Perumthuruthy, Thiruvalla - 689 107, Kerala India
Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2319-5932.165245
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Introduction: Although dentists are ideally placed to deliver smoking cessation advice and assistance to their patients, smoking cessation interventions are not often incorporated as a routine part of dental care. Aim: To assess the awareness on smoking cessation counseling among dental practitioners in Kerala. Materials and Methods: A pretested questionnaire was used for the study. Four hundred and sixteen registered dentists practicing all over Kerala participated in the survey. Results: Dentists are willing to ask and advise patients about smoking, but are less inclined to assist patients to quit or arrange follow-up. Dentists are more likely to implement one-off, opportunistic interventions rather than take a systematic preventive approach. Dentists are interested in attending further education and say they require training to be relevant to the context of their day-to-day running of the dental practice. Conclusions: Training should aim to legitimize the dentist's role in smoking cessation and provide strategies and resources so that dentists can practice interventions as part of their day-to-day work. |
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