Knowledge, attitude and practice of dental professionals towards substance use

Abstract

Introduction: The dentist must be aware of this drug use in their individual patients to: (1) avoid possible contraindications during dental treatment, (2) be aware of the many oral and craniofacial manifestations of such drug use, (3) be able to provide necessary dental treatment to combat the dental/oral ravages of drug use, and (4) be able to refer such patients, if so desired by the patient. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is (1) To determine the knowledge of abusive drugs among dentists and (2) To determine the attitude and role of dentists in identifying patients with abusive drugs. Subjects and Methods: A modified 27-item questionnaire was formulated and distributed among the study. The participants were to return the filled questionnaire to the investigators within a week. A total of 203 validated entries were collected. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel 2007 and analyzed in SPSS V20. Associations between categorical variables were determined using Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Irrespective of the educational qualification drugs are perceived harmful with definite oral manifestations, and dentists should be concerned with identifying individuals with drugs. It is believed that trying drugs once could lead to possible addiction and that dental practitioners should have their skills developed to handle cases and referred to deaddiction centers with modification of treatment plans. Conclusions: Educating dental graduates and postgraduates about the oral implications of drugs intake and making it a part of the dental curriculum may help us dealing with the global issues of drugs. Even making dental students a part in counseling and part of the behavioral therapies advocated in treating drug addicts.

Relationship between oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, practice, self-rated oral health and oral health-related quality of life among Chinese college students: a structural equation modeling approach

“…Moreover, this may also reflect the limitation of the KAP theory in health behaviour interventions. In addition, a previous study showed that practice, apart from being correlated to both knowledge and attitudes, was also related to other factors, such as psychological factors [ 60 , 61 ], level of education [ 62 ], family factors [ 56 ], and social environmental factors [ 63 , 64 ].…”

Assessment of knowledge and attitude regarding management of patients with substance usage in dental clinics in Modinagar- A cross-sectional study

“…Even the studies done by Priyadarshini SR et al in 2019 and McNeely et al in 2013 also said that though the dentists are familiar with the importance of screening for substance use, but they lack definite knowledge, clinical training, and systems that could facilitate furthermore interventional strategies. [141519]…”

“…The study also believed that trying drugs once could lead to possible addiction and that dental practitioners should have their skills developed to handle cases and referred to de-addiction centers with modification of treatment. [14]…”

“…Integrated oral health-care services should be programmed for the management of drug addiction as a multi-organ disease needs a multi-disciplinary approach. [14] Even the treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient's changing needs. Within this context, our analysis sought to examine the management practices used by the dentist for managing the patients with substance abuse.…”

Assessment of Knoweledge and Reasons towards Substance Abuse among Community in Kebele 08, Harar Town, Eastern Ethiopia

“…Substance abuse is associated with adverse health effects such as hypertension, heart rhythm disorders, insomnia, liver toxicity, oral cancer, hypertension, spermatorrhoea and hemorrhoids, loss of appetite and gastrointestinal effects [10,11]. Medical problems associated with khat intoxication include psychiatric manifestations such as deterioration of psychophysical function and schizophrenia form psychoses.…”