Knowledge and attitude towards risk factors in oral cancer held by dental hygienists in the Autonomous Community of Murcia (Spain): a pilot study.

The objective was to study the knowledge and attitude on risk factors in oral cancer held by dental hygienists working in private dental practices in the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain. An anonymous phone survey was made after obtaining consent from the interviewee. A simple randomized study was carried out and 240 dental hygienists were selected. The questionnaire was divided into three different parts: (1) professional data and years of practice; (2) knowledge of the risk factors in oral cancer and (3) education and training needs on oral cancer. The response rate was 58.3%. Regarding knowledge of the risk factors in oral cancer, 100% correctly identified tobacco and 90% alcohol, while only 50.7% identified sun exposure with labial cancer. Only 51.4% of the dental hygienists routinely gave advice to their patients on prevention of oral cancer. Furthermore, 57.1% did not consider themselves sufficiently well trained to discover suspected oral cancer lesions, and 84.3% recognized that their academic training on the early diagnosis and prevention of oral cancer was insufficient for their professional activity. To reduce morbidity and mortality of oral cancer it is necessary to implement training programs on oral cancer for dental hygienists, so they may acquire the necessary skills for its detection and prevention.