Awareness and knowledge of oral cancer in the city of Baghdad, Iraq: a questionnaire-based survey

Introduction
Early detection and successful management of oral cancer (OC) is highly dependent on the early detection of this malignancy, which is related to individuals’ awareness and knowledge about this fatal condition.

Objectives
This pilot study was designed to estimate awareness degree of Iraqi patients about OC.

Material and methods
A total of 1,024 questionnaires were mailed to six randomly selected governmental specialized dental centers in the city of Baghdad. The questionnaire consisted of basic information section including age, gender, alcohol drinking, smoking, and frequency of dental visits. The other section comprised seven questions to estimate the degree of OC awareness.

Results
A total of 318 participants (60% females, 40% males) responded to the questionnaire. The mean response of the sample was 0.36 ± 0.201, and the majority of participants answered only 2-3 questions correctly and no one responded to all seven questions correctly. The association of awareness to different factors showed that the only significant finding was related to information given by a dentist to the patient (OR: 2.9; 95% CI) about OC.

Conclusions
In general, the degree of awareness of Iraqi patients was low about OC. The knowledge about OC considerably increased when the subjects received information from their dentists.