Smoking cessation interventions for dental patients--attitudes and reported practices of dentists in the Oxford region.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate various aspects of dentists' beliefs and practices with respect to helping their patients stop smoking.


METHODS
Postal questionnaire survey conducted in 1996.


METHODS
The general dental practitioners on the health authority lists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire.


METHODS
The 869 dentists registered on 1 April 1996.


RESULTS
A high response rate (78%; 674/869) was obtained. The majority of respondents (82%; 95% CI: 79, 85) thought dentists should encourage their patients to stop smoking although only 37% (95% CI: 34, 41) believed dentists to be effective in smoking cessation and even fewer (18%; 95% CI: 15, 21) routinely recorded their patients' smoking status. Of respondents, 51% (95% CI: 46, 55) said they always discussed smoking with patients who had periodontal problems but only 9% (95% CI: 7, 12) always did so with patients who had no major oral health problem. Newer graduates were more likely to routinely record their patients' smoking status (P = 0.02), and to think that doctors' advice (P = 0.001) and nicotine replacement therapy (P < 0.001) were effective in promoting smoking cessation. Dentists in mainly private practices were more active than those in NHS or mixed practices in recording patients' smoking status (P < 0.001) and in discussing smoking (P = 0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
Most respondents thought that dentists should encourage their patients to stop smoking but few are active in this area.
John
J H
JH
Division of Public Health and Primary Health Care, University of Oxford.
Yudkin
P
P
Murphy
M
M
Ziebland
S
S
Fowler
G H
GH
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002983:Clinical Competence; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003376:Counseling; D003792:Dental Records; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D003815:Dentists; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000150:complications; D011331:Private Practice; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013222:State Medicine; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine