( t be the same. The models sugges...)Routine Dental Check-Ups Should Include Oral Cancer Screening,Health

t be the same.

The models suggest screening people ages 40 to 70 may be more cost-effective than screening older patients. Screening by doctors was only slightly more expensive than screening by dentists, despite the doctors’ lack of specific training to identify oral lesions, Speight and colleagues found. They suggest that doctors may catch more cancers because they see a bigger slice of the population than their dental colleagues.

Kahn said medical students in the United States do not receive the same intensive training in detecting oral cancers that dentists and dental hygienists undergo. Both dentists and dental hygienists “are absolutely more qualified and experienced in detecting oral cancer” than physicians, he said.

“They are very well aware that they are responsible for oral cancer screening and take this responsibility very seriously — they are the gatekeepers,” Kahn said. “For the 50 percent of Americans who regularly see their dentist, whether they know it or not, they are being screened for oral cancer during their cleaning and checkup examination.”

Most people do not realize they have oral cancer until the cancer is well advanced, Speight and colleagues found, which can make treatment long and costly. The outlook for oral cancer patients — surgery, radiation therapy and lengthy jaw reconstruction and counseling — can be grim, the researchers say.

“There has been no improvement in survival for decades, and recent studies show that the incidence is increasing,” Speight added. He said the only way to reverse the trend, beyond the push to prevent smoking and heavy drinking “is by improved detection of lesions while they are small.”

Kahn agreed but said, “for the most part, the average American isn’t going to catch [oral cancer] at that stage. If they come to dentists, there is a golden opportunity to catch i early.” Source: Newswise
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