Campbell H S, Sletten M, Petty T
Division of Epidemiology, Prevention and Screening, Alberta Cancer Board, Calgary, Canada.
J Am Dent Assoc. 1999 Feb;130(2):219-26. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.1999.0171.
Tobacco use is a leading cause of periodontitis and other oral diseases. Dental professionals can help patients quit, but few routinely offer tobacco cessation services, or TCS. In this article, the authors examine dental professionals' attitudes toward offering TCS and patients' attitudes toward receiving TCS from their dental offices.
The authors used baseline data from a three-year randomized controlled trial designed to test the effectiveness of a dissemination strategy aimed at increasing the proportion of tobacco users identified by the dental office, as well as the proportion of tobacco users advised to quit. Fifty-two dental offices in rural communities completed a questionnaire asking for demographic and professional information about their offices, usual TCS offered, barriers to providing TCS and their views on patient receptivity to TCS. A random sample of patients seen during one month were interviewed over the telephone about the TCS provided during their last visit and their comfort in receiving such services from their dental offices.
The authors found that 58.5 percent of the 3,088 dental patients surveyed believed that dental offices should provide TCS to patients. There was equal support among tobacco users and nonusers. Male patients (60.8 percent) and younger patients (69.6 percent) were more likely to believe that dental offices should provide TCS than were female patients (56.8 percent, P < .05) and older patients (57.3 percent, P < .05). The authors also found that patients who had an interest in quitting were more likely to feel comfortable receiving TCS than were those patients who were not interested in quitting (59.7 percent vs. 39.4 percent, P < .01). A total of 61.5 percent of dentists, however, thought patients did not expect such services. When dentists were asked about barriers to providing TCS, 94.3 percent listed patient resistance as a barrier, and 53.9 percent were concerned that patients would leave their practices.
The authors found a wide discrepancy between patients' and dental professionals' views on TCS. A total of 58.5 percent of patients believe dentists routinely should offer such services, while 61.5 percent of dental professionals believed patients did not expect TCS. Patients who were interested in quitting felt more comfortable receiving quit advice.
Periodontitis and other oral diseases are linked directly to tobacco use. Advising patients to quit is a professional responsibility. Tobacco users expect and are comfortable receiving such advice. It is up to dental professionals to overcome their concerns about patient receptivity and provide these services.
吸烟是导致牙周炎和其他口腔疾病的主要原因。牙科专业人员可以帮助患者戒烟，但很少有人会定期提供戒烟服务，即TCS。在本文中，作者研究了牙科专业人员对提供TCS的态度以及患者对从其牙科诊所接受TCS的态度。
作者使用了一项为期三年的随机对照试验的基线数据，该试验旨在测试一种传播策略的有效性，该策略旨在提高牙科诊所识别出的吸烟者比例以及建议戒烟的吸烟者比例。农村社区的52家牙科诊所完成了一份问卷，询问了有关其诊所的人口统计学和专业信息、通常提供的TCS、提供TCS的障碍以及他们对患者接受TCS的看法。在一个月内就诊的患者的随机样本通过电话接受了采访，询问了他们上次就诊时提供的TCS以及他们从牙科诊所接受此类服务的舒适度。
作者发现，在接受调查的3088名牙科患者中，58.5%的人认为牙科诊所应该为患者提供TCS。吸烟者和非吸烟者的支持率相当。男性患者（60.8%）和年轻患者（69.6%）比女性患者（56.8%，P <.05）和老年患者（57.3%，P <.05）更有可能认为牙科诊所应该提供TCS。作者还发现，有戒烟意愿的患者比没有戒烟意愿的患者更有可能对接受TCS感到舒适（59.7%对39.4%，P <.01）。然而，共有61.5%的牙医认为患者不期望此类服务。当被问及提供TCS的障碍时，94.3%的人将患者的抵触列为障碍，53.9%的人担心患者会离开他们的诊所。
作者发现患者和牙科专业人员对TCS的看法存在很大差异。共有58.5%的患者认为牙医通常应该提供此类服务，而61.5%的牙科专业人员认为患者不期望TCS。有戒烟意愿的患者对接受戒烟建议感觉更舒适。
牙周炎和其他口腔疾病与吸烟直接相关。建议患者戒烟是一项专业责任。吸烟者期望并乐于接受此类建议。牙科专业人员有责任克服他们对患者接受度的担忧并提供这些服务。
