Impact of smoking on oral health: Knowledge and attitude of medical and dental students

Introduction: Smoking kills more than 8 million people each year worldwide. The rate of morbidity from illnesses linked to smoking is increasing steadily. The adverse effects of smoking on oral health are well documented. The ability of medical and dental students to assist people in quitting smoking is crucial. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate smoking habits, the level of knowledge and attitudes of medical and dental students towards smoking, as well as the role of dental professionals in prevention of smoking. Methodology: A cross-sectional study, including 150 medical and dental students from the Khyber Medical University, housing officers and dentists from the Hayatabad Medical Complex and Peshawar Dental College, was conducted and data was collected by a pre-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire asked about the patient's smoking and quitting habits, their medical and dentists' experiences with smoking cessation and their readiness to follow dentists' recommendations for quitting. Results: Most of the participants were medical students (81/150) and males (99/150). Majority of them were from 18-30 years old