A new survey of dental patients find that most would feel comfortable with their dentist asking them about alcohol use and its impact on dental health, Medical News Today reported Jan. 8.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina led by Peter M. Miller, Ph.D., questioned 408 adult patients at an emergency dental walk-in clinic. "We thought alcohol was a sensitive topic," Miller said. "We thought people might feel it's okay if their doctor talked to them about [alcohol use], but not their dentist."

But 80 percent of patients said they had no problem with a dentist asking them about their drinking habits. Heavy drinking is related to oral cancer, and 90 percent of patients said that their dentist should advise them to reduce or stop drinking if it was affecting their oral health.

"The results allow us to tell dentists that people don't have a problem with this," said Miller. Addiction experts said that they would like to see more dentists talk to patients about drinking and make treatment referrals if necessary.

The study appears in the December 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).