US Dentists Urged To Do More To Help Patients Quit Smoking
Dentists in America are being urged to do more to help patients quit smoking after a study revealed that only a small proportion of smokers received advice and encouragement from their dentist.
Dentists have been urged to offer advice about smoking and oral health and support patients by the US Public Health Service since 1996; however, a new study has found that most smokers have not received any help from their dentist. Amy Ferketich, a professor at Ohio State University College of Public Health and lead author of the study, said that health officials have been actively encouraged to ask patients about their smoking habits and provide advice to smokers since 1996, yet most patients admitted that they had never spoken to their dentist about smoking.
In a survey, which involved data from 2010 from the National Health Interview Study, researchers found that less than 12 per cent of smokers had been offered advice about giving up smoking by their dentist, while only 50 per cent of smokers had discussed smoking with their doctor. More than 3,600 smokers participated in the survey.
Stanton Glantz, a tobacco researcher, described the findings of the study as “quite striking” and said that more needs to be done to highlight the dangers of smoking and encourage people who do smoke to give up.
Glantz and Ferketich believe that dentists need to use their position to educate patients about the impact of smoking and also to provide support for patients to help them give up.
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