Dental Records and what they can Reveal about Tobacco Use Intervention Practices

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco use prevention and cessation is a practice required by every dentist. It is a fundamental tenet in the fight against tobacco. Fundamentally, the first step of any tobacco use prevention practice includes the identification of tobacco users and a history of their habit. This information is recorded in the dental record of the patient and provides a baseline for the assessment and counseling of the patient in regards to their oral health. OBJECTIVES: To investigate if tobacco use is regularly recorded in dental records of patients attending King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry (KAUFD). METHODS: Four hundred and ninety-four dental records were randomly sampled out of 31,323 records opened during the last three years. Dental records were assessed for information pertaining to the use of tobacco products, the type used, frequency and duration of tobacco use. RESULTS: Only 364 dental records showed that tobacco use information was asked (73%), and of these, only 2% were asked when they started, 4% were asked how often they use tobacco, and 16% were asked about the type of tobacco used. From the dental records sampled, the prevalence of tobacco use among the patients attending KAUFD during that period was 16%. CONCLUSIONS: In regards to tobacco use, all patients must be asked if they use tobacco in any form. Tobacco habits not only cause systemic diseases, but have direct detrimental effects on the oral cavity and greatly deter dental treatment. Dental records provide an excellent source of information for institutes and clinical offices, to monitor the practice of tobacco use prevention and cessation in its simplest terms.