November JADA highlights opportunities for dentists to address teen tobacco use

Survey indicates many high schoolers do not discuss tobacco dangers in dental office

Oral health care professionals, who often see adolescents more frequently than other clinicians, are in a unique position to address tobacco and nicotine use among this population, according to a study published in the November issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association.

The cover story, “Adolescent Tobacco and Nicotine Prevention: Opportunities Missed in the Dental Office,” analyzed nearly 4,000 responses from the 2023 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, a statewide, school-based assessment of tobacco behaviors. While more than 70% of high school students reported visiting a dental office in the past year, only 13.1% said they were told about tobacco dangers by dental personnel.

“Because most adolescents see a dentist within a given year, because most initial use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products occurs during adolescence, and because dentists are a trusted source of health information, there is an important missed opportunity for prevention and early intervention of tobacco use,” the authors said in the study. “Expanding provider training, updating clinical practice guidelines, and emphasizing tobacco discussions could substantially reduce the burden of tobacco-related harm among young populations.”

Other articles in the November issue of JADA discuss the ability of tooth loss to predict death in older adults, oral signs of multiple system atrophy and patient trust in artificial intelligence for orthodontic advice.

Every month, JADA articles are published online at JADA.ADA.org. ADA members can access JADA content with their ADA username and password.