Dental Practitioners Self Reported Performance of Tobacco Cessation Counseling Interventions: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and behaviors of thepracticing dentists regarding tobacco cessation counseling (TCC) in Chhattisgarh state and also the barriers thatprevent them from doing so. Materials and
Methods: The study was conducted among dental practitioners ofRaipur district, Chhattisgarh state (India). The sampling frame was registration with the State Dental Counciland practicing in Raipur district. A questionnaire was personally administered and the practitioners were givenexplanations regarding how to complete it. Only descriptive statistics were calculated (SPSS version 16 forWindows).
Results: Based on the responding dentists’ self reports, 76% were not confident in TCC, 48% didnot assume TCC to be their responsibility, 17% considered that it might have a negative impact on their clinicalpractice, whereas 24% considered it might take away precious time from their practice, 25% considered TCCby dentists to be effective to a considerable extent and 80% considered TCC activities are not effective due tolack of formal training, 69% considered dental clinics as an appropriate place for TCC but 82% thought theremust be separate TCC centre and 100% of the dentists wanted TCC training to be a part of practice and thatit should be included in dental curriculum. Some 95% of them were of the view that tobacco products shouldbe banned in India and 86% responded that health professionals must refrain from tobacco habits so to act asrole models for society.
Conclusions: Dental professionals must expand their armamentarium to include TCCstrategies in their clinical practice. The dental institutions should include TCC in the curriculum and the dentalprofessionals at the primary and the community health care level should also be trained in TCC to treat tobaccodependence.