People would rather see a physician than a dentist when experiencing a long-standing oral ulceration. A population-based study in Spain

• Pablo Varela-Centelles ^[4] ; Yaima Ulloa-Morales ^[1] ; Ana Estany-Gestal ^[2] ; Andrés Blanco-Hortas ^[2] ; María J. García-Pola ^[3] ; Juan M. Seoane-Romero ^[3]
  1. [1] Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

     Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

     Santiago de Compostela, España

     
  2. [2] Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela

     Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela

     Santiago de Compostela, España

     
  3. [3] Universidad de Oviedo

     Universidad de Oviedo

     Oviedo, España

     
  4. [4] Praza do Ferrol Health Centre, EOXI Lugo, Cervo e Monforte, Galician Health Service, Spain

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• Localización: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed. inglesa, ISSN-e 1698-6946, Vol. 25, Nº. 4 (July), 2020
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Primary care physicians have been reported to be the first choice for patients with oral ulcerations. This study investigates the health-seeking behaviour of lay public in Galicia (North-western Spain) if experiencing a long-standing oral ulceration.

    Cross-sectional population-based survey of randomly selected respondents conducted from March 1, 2015 to 30 June 2016.

    A total of 5,727 pedestrians entered the study (response rate: 53%), mostly in the 45-64 age group (30.2%; n=1,728), 47.7% of them (n=2,729) were males. Most participants (42.1%; n=2,411) reported to visit their dentist once a year and had secondary or compulsory education as their highest educational achievement (28.18%, n=1,614; 28%, n=1,600 respectively).

    When questioned what they would do if they had a wound/ulceration lasting longer than 3 weeks, most participants answered they would go to see their primary care physician (62.8%; n=3,597) and less than one quarter of the sample (23.8%; n=1,371) would seek consultation with their dentist.

    General Galician population would seek professional consultation about a long-standing oral ulceration, relying mostly on primary care physicians. Those neglecting these lesions are elderly, less-schooled people and unaware of oral cancer.