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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · European Journal of General Dentistry 2016; 5(02): 53-57
DOI: 10.4103/2278-9626.179535
Original Article

Self-reported smoking cessation interventions among dental practitioners: A cross-sectional study

Raghad Hashim
Department of Growth and Development, College of Dentistry, Ajman University of Science and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
,
Shamim Ismail
Department of Growth and Development, College of Dentistry, Ajman University of Science and Technology, Ajman, United Arab Emirates
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Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes and practices of dentists toward smoking cessation intervention (SCI); to identify the barriers that prevent them from advising their patients to quit smoking and to determine the level of interest in future training in smoking cessation. Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all (122) dentists practicing in private sectors in the Emirate of Ajman, United Arab Emirates. The questionnaire was personally administered, and the dental practitioners were given explanations regarding how to complete it. Only descriptive statistics was calculated. Results: More than half of the respondents (55%) inquired about their patients smoking status, whereas 40% of the dentists documented it. The most common barrier cited by the respondents was the lack of training and preparation in the smoking cessation techniques, followed by lack of availability of educational material. Almost three-quarters of the respondent were interested in further training in SCI; being provided to them through full-day training course. Conclusions: Dentists require more access to appropriate forms of training in the SCI and more support needed to enable the dentist to help their patient to quit the habit. Providing training program to the dental practitioners in the United Arab Emirates to equip them with the required skill to deliver SCI would be highly beneficial.

Keywords

Arab - dentists - health education - smoking cessation


Publication History

Article published online:
01 November 2021

© 2016. European Journal of General Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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