Objectives There is a lack of knowledge on oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) among the local communities of Northeast India. Since the habit of tobacco is linked to the culture and oral cancer is a widespread epidemic here, it is pertinent to assess the knowledge about risk factors and readiness to quit the habit among the study population. Methods The present research was done in the Tobacco Cessation Centre (TCC), Department of Public Health Dentistry (PHD) of Regional Dental College (RDC), Guwahati, Assam, from Jan 2023 to June 2023. This cross-sectional research was done among 200 patients aged 15-65 years. We have utilised the transtheoretical model (TTM) for assessing behaviour change. Oral inspection using a mouth mirror and explorer with adequate illumination was used to visualise the lesions. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Chi-square and odds ratio (OR) tests were used to see the association among the variables. The data was analysed with Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington) and IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). A p-value less than 0.5 is considered to be statistically significant. Results Of the 200 participants, 64(32%) had some oral lesions linked to tobacco use. A significant correlation was observed between the oral lesions and TTM stages (OR=2.81, p<0.05). Among the participants, most were aware only of tobacco (68%) and quid chewing (58%) practices as risk reasons for developing oral cancer. Conclusion The study participants' awareness of OPMDs, their health risks, and clinical signs and symptoms could be higher. A significant relationship was seen between OPMDs and TTM behavioural stages.
Keywords: health risk; oral cancer; risk factor approach; tobacco; transtheoretical model.
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