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INTRODUCTION: Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of disease and mortality in the United States. Tobacco is responsible for one-fifth of all deaths worldwide in India. In India, smoking causes 700,000 deaths per year, and all forms of tobacco usage cause 800,000-900,000 deaths each year. The dentist's role in assisting people in quitting smoking has been recognised. The present study was conducted to know the practice and barriers in tobacco cessation among dentists of Chennai city. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A set of 13 questionnaires was formulated and distributed among the study population . The participants were asked to fill a questionnaire. The survey was done in an online forum. A total of 100 validated entries were collected. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel 2007 and analysed in SPSS V20. Associations between categorical variables were determined using Chi-square. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS:In our study it was found that 46 % participants were male ; 54 % were female. 50 % have completed their undergraduate and 50 % were postgraduate. 63 % were teaching professionals ; 37 % were private practitioners . 46 % of the participants think that it is necessary to ask patients if they have tobacco usage habits . 52 % think that it is necessary to advise patients to quit tobacco. 67 % participants explain the benefits of tobacco cessation to patients. 43% participants discuss specific strategies to stop tobacco usage. Around 32 % participants think that it is important to keep patients on follow up. 30 % participants think that some patients might not turn up for further treatments if they insist on stopping tobacco usage. 27 % of the participants think that dentists' time can be much better spent doing things other than trying to reduce tobacco use in patients. CONCLUSION: This study identified practices, and perceived barriers in tobacco cessation counselling among dental practitioners in Chennai. The most common problem faced was patient indifference and a lack of training. Tobacco cessation should be reinforced in the classroom so that it can be carried over into clinical practise afterwards. Furthermore, a suitable environment should be provided for them to properly counsel the patient.

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