Impact of academic and continuing education on oral cancer knowledge, attitude and practice among dentists in north-western Italy.

The present study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists practicing in the Turin Province (north-western Italy) regarding oral cancer prevention and early detection, to weigh the impact of academic and continuing education and to compare actual and perceived knowledge/practice. A survey was prospectively carried out using an anonymous 23-item questionnaire. Bivariate analyses, multivariate logistic regression analyses and Spearman's correlation analyses examined the overall effect of demographic/background characteristics of responders, with particular emphasis on academic and continuing education. The responder group was formed by 450 dentists representative of the Turin Province Council of Dentists. Both academic and continuing education have a significant impact on knowledge, with a significant association between the time elapsed from continuing education and the degree of knowledge. Knowledge acquired during graduation is seen to significantly weaken in the absence of continuing education. The present study highlights the need of both thorough academic curricula and compulsory current continuing education.