VOLUME 16 , ISSUE 1 ( January-April, 2022 ) > List of Articles
Vikas Verma, Krishna Priya
Keywords : Nicotine replacement therapy, Tobacco cessation, Tobacco cessation counseling
Citation Information : Verma V, Priya K. Tobacco Cessation Counseling among Oral Healthcare Professionals in Tricity. J Oral Health Comm Dent 2022; 16 (1):5-8.
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10062-0122
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 27-04-2022
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2022; The Author(s).
Introduction: Tobacco toll in India has one-fifth of all worldwide death attributed to tobacco. Tobacco use has been labeled as the number one cause of preventable disease and premature death. The prevention and control of tobacco use is an emerging issue of global significance. Materials and methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among oral healthcare professionals in Tricity in the time period of July 2019 to September 2019. A total of 100 dentists (clinicians as well as academicians) who were willing to participate in this study were included in this study. Those who did not fulfill these criteria were excluded from the study. The study tool was comprised of self-structured closed-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire was comprised of 20 questions. The questionnaire was distributed among the oral healthcare professionals of Tricity. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: demographic profile and questions related to knowledge and practice of tobacco use cessation. The responses to the questionnaire were marked on the multiple-choice scale. The data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Results: Most of the oral healthcare professionals who participated in the study (79%) belonged to the age-group of 21–25 years and most of the participating oral healthcare professionals (41%) had an experience of 1 year at the time of study. The majority of the dentists (82%) agreed that they were comfortable in handling the patients with tobacco dependence. But only few of them routinely stress on their patients about habit pertaining to tobacco usage (38%) and do counseling for the patients with tobacco usage (35%). Around half of the oral healthcare professionals (48%) agreed that they encourage their patient regarding tobacco cessation and most of them (82%) warn them regarding tobacco cessation but very few advise their patients nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (11%) or other pharmacological agents and behavioral therapy (7%). Out of the study subjects, only 20% took any additional training pertaining to tobacco cessation and 72% of study subjects feel that the training they got is insufficient. Conclusion: A fewer percentage of oral healthcare professionals had taken additional training regarding tobacco cessation. So, there was a strong need for more training sessions regarding tobacco cessation.