Evaluation of the knowledge and awareness of patients applying to the faculty of dentistry and dentistry students about oral premalign and malignant diseases

In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the awareness of patients applying to the faculty of dentistry and dentistry students about oral cancer, and their level of knowledge about oral cancer risk factors and clinical findings. The study data were obtained by using a questionnaire form on the patients who applied to Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University Faculty of Dentistry and the students studying at the Faculty of Dentistry.Survey participants; It consists of five sections in which socio-demographic information, oral cancer awareness, risk factors, clinical findings and habits of oral cancer are questioned. A total of 930 people aged 18 and over, without mental disability, no oral cancer diagnosis, were included in the study group on a voluntary basis. Confidentiality of answers was ensured without specifying the names and surnames of all participants. The analysis of the collected data was carried out using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences Statistics (SPSS) v25 package program. Descriptive statistics for categorical variables (socio-demographic) are presented as frequency and percentage. When the results of the study were evaluated, it was seen that the knowledge and awareness of the patients and students of the faculty of dentistry about oral cancer were not at a sufficient level. It is thought that it would be beneficial to create training programs for oral and dental health in order to increase the awareness level of the society and to inform individuals about oral cancer within these training programs.It is thought that dentistry students, on the other hand, will be able to reach high levels of knowledge and awareness regarding oral cancers both before and after graduation with better education curricula to be created. Keywords: Oral cancer, Oral precancer, Awareness