Dental Visits, Dentist-Patient Communication, and Its Association with Oral Cancer Examination Behavior Among Tobacco/Nicotine Product Users in Western India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background/

Objectives

Regular dental visits are key to early oral cancer detection, especially for tobacco users. Effective dentist-patient communication about oral cancer examinations (OCEs) and quitting tobacco could influence patients' actual OCE behavior. This study investigated the association of dental visits and dentist-patient communication with OCE behavior among tobacco/nicotine product users in Western India.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 current tobacco/nicotine product users from a dental hospital and 15 dental camps in Daman, India, between July 2023 and January 2024. The outcome variable was OCE behavior; the explanatory variables included past dental visits and dentist-patient communication about the benefits of quitting tobacco and importance of OCEs; and the covariates were socio-demographic factors and past 30-day smoking and smokeless tobacco use. The data was analyzed using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models.

Results

Only 8.7% of participants reported having undergone an OCE. Those who visited a dentist within the past year were approximately 10 times more likely to have had an OCE (OR = 9.95, p = 0.01). Participants whose dentist discussed the importance of OCE (aOR = 2.59, p = 0.04) and the benefits of quitting tobacco (OR = 2.45, p = 0.04) were 2.5 times more likely to have had an OCE.

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the important role of dental visits and effective dentist-patient communication in promoting OCEs among tobacco/nicotine product users. Public health campaigns should prioritize enhancing dental visits and dentist-patient communication to emphasize the benefits of tobacco cessation and regular OCEs to reduce the oral cancer burden in this population.