Abstract
Introduction
Despite the strategies for prevention and diagnosis, oral cancer is among the most incidents in Brazil.
Objective
To evaluate the knowledge about oral cancer of primary health care dentists.
Material and method
This is a census, exploratory and quantitative study carried out in 2021. Dentists linked to the public network of the 9 municipalities of the “Baixada Litorânea” region/RJ filled out a questionnaire with 41 questions, divided into 5 blocks: 1. Sociodemographic profile, 2. Knowledge on oral cancer, 3. Risk factors for oral cancer, 4. Safety for diagnosing oral cancer and 5. Experience in identifying suspicious lesions.
Result
Of the 128 dentists, 89.1% (n=114) participated and were characterized by being less than 40 years old (50%), female (64.9%) and for having the dentistry degree for more than 16 years (57.9%). As for knowledge about oral cancer and risk factors, 84.2% considered their level of knowledge regular or good and 65.8% considered their level of security low for carrying out diagnostic procedures for oral cancer. Regarding the identification of oral cancer suspicious lesions, 86.8% performed oral cavity examination, 7.9% did not perform it because the consultation time was insufficient and 5.3% because they did not know how to do it. In addition, 50.9% have identified a suspicious lesion in the last 12 months. It was also observed that 65.8% of dentists were not aware of the municipality's flowchart for the diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer.
Conclusion
The findings showed that the knowledge about oral cancer was satisfactory; however, training regarding risk factors and diagnostic procedures related to oral cancer should be strengthened.
Descriptors:
Early diagnosis; early detection of cancer; oral neoplasms; public health policie