Nicotine-related misperceptions among faculty and students at a Midwestern dental school

Purpose/objectives To determine the perceptions about the ill-effects of nicotine in students and faculty at a Midwestern dental school. This information will help inform the school and improve teaching on this subject during a time when electronic nicotine delivery systems are increasingly popular. Methods An online survey of dental students and faculty of a Midwestern dental school was deployed in November, 2020 to determine their level of misperception about the ill effects of nicotine. An online Qualtrics survey was administered to approximately 212 predoctoral students at a dental institution and approximately 100 part- and full-time faculty at the same school. Results The response rate for faculty was 55.1% and that for students was 37.5%. The majority of faculty and students "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that nicotine causes cancer, birth defects, cardiovascular disease, oral inflammation, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Conclusions Dental school faculty and students linked the risks of smoking tobacco to nicotine. Based on the results of this study, we feel our institution's curriculum should consider including information specific to nicotine in addition to tobacco in general.