The Level of Knowledge of Dental Profession Students of Universitas Airlangga on Leukoplakia as an Oral Potentially Malignant Disorder: An Observational Analytic Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Some oral cancers are preceded by oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), clinically and histologically characterized by epithelial dysplasia. Leukoplakia is one of the OPMDs which clinically categorized into homogenous and nonhomogenous. Nonhomogeneous leukoplakia has a higher potential for malignant change. Therefore, dentists are required to recognize leukoplakia early during an oral (visual) examination, and this competency must be one of the requirements before graduation. Objective This study aimed to understand the level of knowledge of the dental undergraduate students about leukoplakia as an OPMD. Methods This research was an observational analytic study using a cross-sectional design. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey conducted using Google Forms. The total score was divided into high (9-12), medium (5-8), and low (0-4). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 using comparative analysis Mann-Whitney techniques test. Results A total of 180 dental profession students completed the questionnaire. Of these, 74 (41.40%) respondents were 22 years old, and 146 (81.10%) respondents were female. A high level of knowledge was achieved by 130 (72.20%) respondents, with each revealing 68 respondents from the 2019 batch and 62 from the 2018 batch, 49 (27.20%) respondents with a medium level of knowledge with 26 from the 2018 batch and 23 from the 2019 batch, and 1 respondent (0.60%) from the 2019 batch with a low level of knowledge. The results showed a p -value of 0.211. Conclusion There is no significant difference between the levels of knowledge of dental profession students in Universitas Airlangga batches 2018 and 2019 with regard to leukoplakia as an OPMD.