ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess routine practices of
general dentists in Jordan regarding patients’ use of tobacco
and perceived barriers to providing tobacco cessation
counseling. A survey questionnaire was mailed to a random sample
of 849 out of 1693 dentists. Of the 613 (72.2%) respondents,
71.1% were males, 71.5% were younger than 40 years, 35% were
current smokers and 70.8% were in the private sector.
Sixty-three percent permitted smoking in their practices.
Although 57.7% inquired whether or not their patients smoked,
only 22.3% recorded it. As many as 69.5% advised smokers to quit
and almost half provided strategies on quitting. Only 25.4% felt
reluctant to discuss the tobacco issue with their patients.
Among those who educated their patients of the adverse effects
of smoking; 74.9% did this with smokers, whereas 54.2% educated
the non-smokers. Dentists perceived lack of interest by
patients, lack of effectiveness, inadequate training and lack of
time as major barriers to offering advice. It was concluded that
tobacco cessation intervention was not a routine practice
among general dentists in Jordan. |