Patient receptivity to tobacco cessation counseling in an academic dental clinic: a patient survey.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated dental patient attitudes towards tobacco cessation counseling in the dental school setting.


METHODS
Patients attending an academic dental clinic during a six-week period were asked to complete a 22-item self-administered survey. Means and frequency distributions were assessed on all variables as appropriate.


RESULTS
Response rate was 71%. Twenty-nine percent of respondents reported that they currently used tobacco. Seventy-two percent of tobacco users agreed that the student dentist should ask patients whether or not they use tobacco, 67% agreed that the student dentist should advise tobacco users to quit, and 89% agreed that student dentists should offer quit tobacco information to patients who want to quit. Seventy percent of tobacco users were considering quitting or currently trying to quit. Of these, only 31% were aware of community resources to help them quit.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of tobacco users were positive in their attitudes toward delivery of tobacco cessation counseling and services in the dental setting. Many were considering or trying to quit, but few were aware of community resources to help them.
Victoroff
Kristin Zakariasen
KZ
Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-4905, USA. kristin.victoroff@case.edu
Lewis
Robert
R
Ellis
Eric
E
Ntragatakis
Milton
M
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003740:Dental Clinics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020340:Tobacco Use Cessation / Q000523:psychology*