Are adolescents aware of the effects of smoking on oral health? A school-based cross-sectional study in midwest Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of knowledge regarding the effects of smoking on oral health among Brazilian adolescent students and explore its associations with smoking and sociodemographic factors. Materials and Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Adolescents completed a 16-item questionnaire about the effects of smoking on oral health. The level of knowledge was estimated from the sum of the responses. Smoking status was categorized as "current and former smokers" or "never smoked". Covariates included sociodemographic variables: gender, age, colour or race, and parental education. Independent-samples t-test and multiple regression analysis using backward elimination were performed; statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: 219 students participated in the survey (98.2%); most had never smoked (77.6%). The statement "smoking is harmful to oral health" received the highest percentage of correct answers (85.4%). Most questions had low percentages of correct answers (below 50%). Smoking status was significantly associated with knowledge level. Current and former smokers showed higher knowledge scores regarding the effects of smoking on oral health than those who had never smoked (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Although most adolescents recognized that smoking is harmful to oral health, few were aware of its main effects on the mouth. Moreover, a lower level of knowledge was observed among those who had never smoked.