This project will enhance tobacco cessation education and practice for dental hygiene students and by extension their behavior in practice following graduation. Dental visits are longer in duration and scheduled more frequently than medical visits, and dental hygienists in particular emphasize preventive oral and general health behaviors with their patients. During these visits, positive health behaviors are discussed, and tobacco interventions fit naturally into this context.

Demonstrating the proximal oral effects of smoking and smokeless tobacco use can be a powerful tool in motivating tobacco users to quit. A majority of dental clinicians believe they should engage in tobacco control ac...

Read More

This project will enhance tobacco cessation education and practice for dental hygiene students and by extension their behavior in practice following graduation. Dental visits are longer in duration and scheduled more frequently than medical visits, and dental hygienists in particular emphasize preventive oral and general health behaviors with their patients. During these visits, positive health behaviors are discussed, and tobacco interventions fit naturally into this context.

Demonstrating the proximal oral effects of smoking and smokeless tobacco use can be a powerful tool in motivating tobacco users to quit. A majority of dental clinicians believe they should engage in tobacco control activities and are interested in learning how to treat tobacco dependence and dental patients who receive brief tobacco treatment quit at two to three times the rate of patients receiving usual care. Faculty at the 21 schools of dental hygiene will be trained in a comprehensive tobacco education and cessation curriculum that they will in turn present to their students.

The recruitment and education of faculty willing to reinforce tobacco cessation in clinical practice during clinical training is essential to insuring that graduates incorporate this into their practice after graduation. A dedicated website will offer additional resources and provide a forum for feedback from faculty and students. The success of these activities will be evaluated by a survey of participating students while in school, faculty focus groups conducted via Webinar and a survey of graduates six months after graduation. This program will result in approximately 500 new practicing hygienists each year who are better equipped to practice tobacco cessation, improve oral health and decrease the morbidity and mortality from all tobacco-attributable cancers. Continuation of the faculty collaboration and the educational plan will create a new generation of clinicians prepared to provide tobacco intervention for patients in practice.

Read Less