Oral cancer screening: improving early detection

Mouth Cancer Awareness Month took place in Novermber. As a result of this dedicated month, oral cancer awareness within the general public has most definitely risen, but there is still a way to go in promoting awareness throughout the year. Today, more than ever, there is also a heightened awareness, within the dental team, for the importance of early detection of mouth cancer. Screening is defined as a means of detecting disease early in asymptomatic people.

The crux of the screening message is that any positive results of examinations in cancer screenings are usually not diagnostic, but done to identify persons at increased risk for the presence of pre-cancer or cancer and who may warrant further evaluation. Only the results of an incisional biopsy can confirm the presence of pre-cancer or cancerous cells.