Knowledge on Oral Cancer in a Group of Undergraduate Dentistry Students

Lopes, Luan de Araújo; Santos, Suzziane Silva; Lima, Taís de Araújo; Hassam, Sheinaz Farias; Spanemberg, Juliana Cassol; Farias, Jener Gonçalves de; Cardoso, Juliana Andrade

Abstract Oral cancer is a multifactorial disease with a high occurrence rate considered to be an important public health problem. The knowledge of the Dentist is essential in the early diagnosis process, with preparation beginning since graduation to know the pathology, carry out accurate examinations, and act correctly in the face of suspected oral cancer cases. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of undergraduate students in Dentistry at a university regarding oral cancer and its risk factors. This was an observational, cross-sectional, qualitative and descriptive study, with use of forms on students from the 4th to the 9th semester. After data collection, the results were submitted for statistical analysis in the IBM SPSS2018 program. The total number of correct answers related to ten questions, nine with a single correct answer and one with six possibly correct answers. The correlation between the number of correct answers and the progress of the semesters (from the 4th to the 9th) was tested with Kendall's tau b coefficient. The analysis for each question used was performed by Fisher's exact test with Monte Carlo approximation. There was no significant difference (p = 0.334; rt = -0.093) in the evolution of knowledge surrounding the questions applied. In the analysis for each question, there was a significant difference in questions two and five (p = 0.000). The level of knowledge of dentistry students was considered good, needing improvement. It is essential to implement continuous educational measures throughout the course. (AU)

BVS Odontologia

Informação e Conhecimento para a Saúde

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Knowledge on Oral Cancer in a Group of Undergraduate Dentistry Students / Conhecimento Sobre Câncer Oral em um Grupo de Acadêmicos de Odontologia