Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess recognition of smoking cessation education among dental hygienists and knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to smoking cessation counseling as well as to obtain basic data on smoking cessation counseling for effective oral care in dental offices. Methods: After approval was obtained from the institutional review board, this study was carried out dental hygienists working in dental hospitals and clinics in Busan City, Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk province, Korea. The final analysis captured information from 300 participants. Data were analyzed with SPSS 21.0. Results: Of the 300 participants, 94.0% agreed that smoking cessation education is necessary, 17.5% reported smoking cessation education experience, and 65.7% reported intention to participate in smoking cessation education in the future. Dental hygienists’ smoking cessation counseling activities showed a significant correlation between attitudes and practices (P<0.001). Conclusions: Counseling for smoking cessation provided by dental hygienists was positively correlated with the presence of smoking cessation knowledge and with the intention of participating in smoking cessation education. For dental hygienists to effectively counsel patients regarding smoking cessation, it is essential to integrate smoking cessation education into the dental school curriculum and to offer continuing education post-graduation.

Keywords: Dental hygienist, Smoking cessation, Smoking cessation counseling