Patterns of questions asked by patients when receiving the diagnosis of oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To analyze question patterns of patients receiving oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) or oral malignant tumors (OMT) diagnosis. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a clinical setting. Questions asked during diagnosis disclosure were recorded and categorized into five themes: disease, treatment, next steps, emotional and spiritual. Chi-squared tests with Bonferroni corrections and standardized residuals compared question types between groups. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests evaluated differences in question frequency. Analyses were performed in RStudio with P < .05. RESULTS: A total of 118 patients participated, 68 with OPMD and 50 with OMT. Two hundred ninety-one questions were asked: OPMD patients mostly questioned about disease (49.64%) and treatment. OMT patients mainly asked about treatment (42.45%) and next steps (31.13%). There was a significant difference in question types between groups (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings can guide training programs to improve dentists' communication skills when diagnosing OPMD or OMT, potentially reducing communication-related stress.