Public awareness level of oral cancer in a group of dental patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of public awareness and knowledge about early signs and risk factors of oral cancer among a group of dental patients in Turkey. This study included 1022 participants. Sociodemographic information of patients was obtained. A questionnaire about awareness and knowledge of oral cancer and early signs and risk factors related to the disease was completed by two examiners. Data were statistically analyzed with descriptive analyses, crosstabs and chi-square tests. In total 60.7% of participants had never heard of oral cancer. While 79.2% of the participants were unaware of the early signs related to oral cancer, 29.9% of them were unaware of risk factors of the disease. There were no statistically significant differences between age, gender, and education levels for awareness of risk factors. Statistically significant differences were found between age and gender and no statistically significant difference was found between education levels for awareness of early signs. This study showed that public awareness and knowledge about oral cancer were insufficient in Turkey. There is an important need to inform the public about oral cancer, its risk factors, and early signs of the disease. Media campaigns can be useful to raise oral cancer awareness.