Objectives This cross‐sectional study aims to evaluate whether Continuing Education Activities (CEA) influence dentists’ behaviour in relation to oral lesions. The secondary aim is to assess the association between dentists’ perception of learning adequacy and self‐efficacy for oral mucosal lesion management. Methods A self‐administered online questionnaire was conducted on dentists working at the public health system of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The questionnaire included questions pertaining to perception of adequacy for oral diagnosis classes upon graduation, participation in oral cancer CEA and self‐efficacy in managing oral mucosal lesions. Results 221 dentists from 91 municipalities answered the questionnaire. Most participants were female (71.5%) with a mean age of 38.3 years. Perception of learning as adequate during undergraduate coursework was associated with self‐efficacy to diagnose, biopsy, and treat oral mucosal lesions (P < .05, Chi‐squared test). However, 83.3% of dentists considered the time devoted to these topics prior to graduation insufficient. The frequency of oral lesion detection was related to self‐efficacy to treat oral lesions and detecting oral cancer (P < .05, Chi‐squared test). Among dentists who detected oral lesions frequently, 88.9% had attended CEA, whereas 11.1% of them had never attended these activities. Conclusions CEA may improve awareness and efficacy of primary healthcare professional's detection of oral cancer.

Introduction Dentists usually refer to difficulties in performing the diagnosis of oral mucosal lesions. This may be attributed to limited access to theoretical lectures and practical training on this subject along the graduation course. The primary aim of this cross‐sectional study was to verify if there is an association between the perception of time dedicated to lectures/training and oral diagnosis abilities in oral medicine. The secondary aim was to evaluate the association between self‐‐confidence to perform oral mucosal lesions diagnosis and performance in a diagnostic abilities test. Materials and Methods The sample comprised 36 final‐year dental students of a South‐Brazilian dental school. The participants answered a questionnaire on their perception of time dedicated to lectures on oral medicine along the course (sufficient or insufficient) and their self‐confidence to diagnose oral mucosal lesions or oral cancer (yes or not). The students were also submitted to a diagnostic abilities test based on 30 clinical photos of oral lesions, which should be classified as benign, potentially malignant or malignant. Moreover, the participants had to inform their clinical impression for each case. Finally, the participants informed their decision making for the case (refer the patient to a specialist or not). Results Students with higher self‐confidence showed a higher percentage of correct answers on classification of the nature of lesions (81.1% vs. 68.5%, p = .03, teste t de Student) and on their clinical impression (66.3% vs. 41.7%, p < .01, Student's t‐test). The perception of time dedicated to theoretical lectures on oral medicine as sufficient did not influence the students’ diagnostic abilities (p > .05, Student's t‐test) Conclusion It may be concluded that self‐confidence to diagnose oral lesions is associated with dental students’ diagnostic abilities.

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Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic ability and perception of self-confidence by medical residents and students in relation to oral ulcers and the impact of a distance educational intervention, comparing their performances with those of dental students and residents. Materials and methods: The sample of this quasi-experimental study with educational intervention consisted of 49 participants from the medical area (Med) and 28 from the dental area (Dent). The diagnostic abilities test comprised a questionnaire containing 20 photos of oral lesions. Their self-confidence was evaluated from a 5-point Likert scale. The educational intervention, applied among the Med, was characterized by video classes about oral ulcers. Results: The median for diagnostic ability of the Med was 50%, being lower than that of the Dent (students=65 and residents=80, Kruskal-Wallis/Dunn, p<0.01). Approximately 70% of the Med was not confident/not really confident for the diagnosis of oral ulcers, whereas no Dent was perceived in these categories. The perception of self-confidence was higher among Dent than among the Meds (Kruskal Wallis/Dunn, p<0.01). Medical residents scored better in the diagnostic test after educational intervention (Student's t-test, p <0.01). Conclusion: The knowledge of Med about oral ulcers is limited, but may be improved by distance educational intervention. Clinical relevance: These findings suggest that educational actions may contribute to mitigate the training gap of medical students and residents in relation to oral ulcers. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to assess the diagnostic abilities and self-confidence of medical students and residents to diagnose oral ulcers.

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