The dentist’s office is the first line of defense for oral cancer diagnosis. Approximately 60% of the population receive regular dental care (Tarkan, 2009), and these visits are a unique opportunity to look for signs of cancer growth and discuss changes the patient has experienced in his or her mouth. There are two ways dentists look for oral cancer: the first is a visual examination of the mouth and the second is through the use of adjunctive screening tools such as Velscope and ViziLite. Without vigilance, cancer diagnosis may be delayed which often translates to poorer outcomes and higher mortality rates. Oral cancer that is detected early has an 80% 5-year survival rate compared to the overall 5-year survival rate of 59% (Tarkan, 2009).
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