Role of dental students towards tobacco-use cessation: KAB Survey

It is a misfortune of the past that tobacco became a legal invention. It would be a myth to presume that a product which destroys semi its customers was given a legal status by way of judgment. Addictive nature of nicotine leads to tobacco dependence, which can be cured through Tobacco-use Cessation (TUC). Dentists can play a significant role in TUC as dental treatment often necessitates multiple visits, providing a platform for initiation, reinforcement, and support of tobacco cessation activities. Despite this proven potential, not many dental students routinely offer tobacco-use cessation counseling to their patients although the majority of them have positive attitude towards the idea. Hence, this study was carried out to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, behavior, constraints & practices of clinical dental students of four dental colleges of Gujarat, towards tobacco-use deterrence & termination encouragement in oral healthcare settings.