ASSESSMENT OF AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ORAL CANCER AMONG DENTAL PATIENTS IN BENGALURU.

Objective – Oral cancer is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide and is associated with heightened morbidity and mortality rates. Awareness regarding the signs and symptoms followed by early detection is the key for reducing the same. The present study was taken up to assess the awareness and knowledge regarding oral cancer among dental patients in Bengaluru (INDIA). Method – Study included 400 dental patients who visited the outpatient department of the institution. A questionnaire, adopted and modified from HOCKS scale (mHOCKS), was used to assess the awareness regarding risk factors, knowledge regarding symptoms and signs of oral cancer and general beliefs. Results –The total percentage scores obtained for awareness regarding risk factors, knowledge regarding symptoms and signs of oral cancer and general beliefs of oral cancer were 74.9%, 58.6% and 92.2% respectively. Irrespective of the age and gender, most of the subjects believed that it is easy to treat oral cancer, if detected early. Overall, the score of awareness and knowledge regarding oral cancer in the high-risk population of Bengaluru was, fairly good (75.23%).Conclusion – Although, the study group was having a sound knowledge regarding risk factors, unfortunately knowledge regarding the signs and symptoms of oral cancer was considerably lower. This is especially important for the clinicians, various governmental and non-governmental organization’s in providing specific goals, to concentrate on improving public knowledge about features of oral cancer.