Smokeless tobacco cessation support in dental hospitals in Pakistan: Dentists and dental patients' perspectives on current practices, support needed and opportunities available.

Smokeless Tobacco (ST) control considerably lags, in comparison to the control of combustible tobacco. This is the first study that qualitatively explores the implementation of ST cessation support in dental settings in Pakistan. Utilizing the 'Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour' model, it provides an in-depth understanding of the inability of dentists in implementing effective behavioural interventions for ST cessation support in routine dental practice. Highlighting the striking discrepancy between the patients' need for and receptivity towards cessation support and the dentists' concerns over their patients' receptivity towards cessation support, it calls for the need for effective implementation strategies to optimize dentist-led tobacco cessation interventions in low-resource settings.