Knowledge about dental care in patients with head and neck cancer among senior dental school students: a cross-sectional descriptive study

Abstract

Background The dentist's central role in treating head and neck cancer patients is to care for the patient’s oral cavity before, during, and after radio/chemotherapy. This research aimed to determine dental students' knowledge about head and neck cancer patients’ dental care. Methods One hundred and four fifth and sixth-year dental students participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. The data collection tool was a questionnaire that collected demographic information (gender, year of study) and four questions consisting of attendance to courses or workshops, passing a dedicated course at the university, willing to participate in a course or workshop on the treatment of head and neck cancer patients and self-evaluating information about the treatment of head and neck cancer patients. Final part 36 questions about oral and dental care for head and neck cancer patients before, after, and during treatment. The data were analyzed with SPSS 26 statistical software and using t-tests, ANOVA, and linear regression at the 0.05 significance level. Results Most of the participants were in their sixth year (48.9%). A total of 48.1% of the people reported that their information about dental treatments in patients with head and neck cancer was bad. 85% of participants agreed with the necessity of evaluating the patient's mouth and teeth before starting the treatment. The lowest percentage of correct answers was related to the ideal duration of tooth extraction and a poor prognosis before the start of cancer treatment. The regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between years of education, willingness to participate in courses, and students’ knowledge evaluation and knowledge. Conclusion The findings showed that students’ awareness of oral and dental treatment and care for patients with head and neck cancer is insufficient. It is recommended that teaching staff pay more attention to the lack of knowledge and effort to educate students by holding special courses and workshops.