Resumo

DONCEL PEREZ, Clara; MENDEZ CALUNGA, Maritza; BETANCOURT DIESTE, Héctor  e  CASTILLO CASTILLO, Arturo. Knowledge about oral cancer among dental patients. Rev Cub Med Mil [online]. 2014, vol.43, n.1, pp. 52-60. ISSN 0138-6557.

Introduction: it is possible to detect oral cancer at an early stage provided that the population is trained to identify the initial symptoms of the disease, since the oral cavity is one of the sections of the human body which may be examined directly. Objective: evaluate the level of knowledge about oral cancer among dental patients. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on an individual interview. The study universe was composed of 460 patients seeking dental care. Results: It was found that 246 patients (53.5 %) had completed high school, 288 (62.6 %) were not aware of the risk factors for oral cancer, and a mere 2.2 % had adequate knowledge about oral cancer. Conclusions: The level of knowledge about oral cancer among most of the population surveyed was evaluated as either fair or poor.

Palavras-chave : oral cancer; mouth self-examination; risk factors.

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