Tobacco cessation: what role can dental professionals play?

Resumo

Tobacco dependence is classified as a disease by the
International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), but, medical and
dental professionals have neither seriously taken this fact nor made
any serious attempt to tackle this disease. Apart from supporting
wider tobacco control measures, oral health professionals can help
patients to stop using tobacco. This may be the single most important
service dentists can provide for their patients’ overall health. Objective:
This review is prepared with the object to help both clinicians and
oral health professionals to scale up their involvement in tobacco
control activities, including advocacy and smoking cessation programs.
Literature review: Studies have shown that � �� smokers indicate
that they want to quit, but a meagre 2% succeed. The dental practice
setting provides a unique opportunity to assist tobacco users in
achieving tobacco abstinence. Still, More than 40% of dentists do
not routinely ask about tobacco use and 60% do not routinely advise
tobacco users to quit, while 61.5% of dentists believe their patients
do not expect tobacco cessation services. Conclusion: Interventions
by dentist has been found to be effective in helping people to quit
tobacco consumption. A step-wise approach and patience must be
adopted while dealing with such patients.