Statement of problem

Data on the oral cancer screening skills and beliefs of prosthodontists practicing in Saudi Arabia are lacking.

Purpose

The purpose of this survey was to assess the beliefs, experiences, and practices of prosthodontists practicing in Saudi Arabia regarding the early detection of oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders.

Material and methods

A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted on prosthodontists practicing in Saudi Arabia. A 26-item questionnaire was sent to all eligible prosthodontists (N=250). The collected data were analyzed with a statistical software program.

Results

The response rate was 57.2% (N=143). The majority of participants (79%) reported that they routinely examined all new patients for mucosal pathologies. However, only 58% reported that they examine their patients at recall visits, and only 61.5% stated that they provide tobacco use or smoking cessation advice. With regard to the respondents’ experiences with suspicious mucosal lesions, the majority said that they had detected a suspicious lesion (79.7%) and had referred affected patients (83.2%) during their career. Most prosthodontists (65%) believed that they were able to detect oral cancer on their own, and 40% believed that they could influence their patients to stop smoking. A lack of training, confidence, time, and financial incentives were reported as barriers to oral cancer screening.

Conclusions

Most of the prosthodontists surveyed in this study appeared motivated to perform routine oral mucosal screening. However, more efforts are needed to help improve the attitudes, confidence, and skills of prosthodontists when it comes to identifying and referring suspicious oral mucosal lesions.

中文翻译：

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口腔癌和潜在恶性疾病的早期检测：在沙特阿拉伯执业的修复牙医的经验、做法和信念

问题陈述

缺乏关于在沙特阿拉伯执业的修复牙医的口腔癌筛查技能和信念的数据。

目的

本次调查的目的是评估在沙特阿拉伯执业的口腔修复医师在口腔癌和潜在恶性疾病的早期检测方面的信念、经验和做法。

材料与方法

对在沙特阿拉伯执业的修复牙医进行了一项基于问卷的横断面调查。向所有符合条件的口腔修复医师（N=250）发送了一份 26 项问卷。使用统计软件程序分析收集的数据。

结果

响应率为 57.2% (N=143)。大多数参与者 (79%) 报告说他们定期检查所有新患者的粘膜病变。然而，只有 58% 的人报告说他们在回访时检查了他们的病人，只有 61.5% 的人说他们提供烟草使用或戒烟建议。就受访者对可疑黏膜病变的经历而言，大多数受访者表示他们曾检测到可疑病变 (79.7%) 并在其职业生涯中转诊过受影响的患者 (83.2%)。大多数口腔修复医生 (65%) 认为他们能够自己检测口腔癌，40% 的人认为他们可以影响患者戒烟。据报道，缺乏培训、信心、时间和经济激励是口腔癌筛查的障碍。

结论

本研究中接受调查的大多数修复牙医似乎都愿意进行常规口腔粘膜筛查。然而，当涉及到识别和转诊可疑口腔黏膜病变时，需要更多的努力来帮助改善修复牙医的态度、信心和技能。