Oral cancer impacts people. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 28,900 people were diagnosed in 2002 with oral cancers and 7,400 people would died as result of their disease.
The overall five-year survival rate was 56 percent.
Early oral cancer is often asymptomatic and if not caught during its earlier stages, the chances of surviving the disease diminish significantly, according to Dr. Danny R. Sawyer, professor and chairman of Case' department of oral diagnosis and radiology and assistant dean of didactic education.
He conducted the study along with Dr. Marsha Pyle, Case associate dean for dental curriculum; Meredith Bailey, a second-year Case dental student; and Maureen Vendemia, professor of dental hygiene from Youngstown State University.
The 25-question survey from Case was mailed to 2,000 randomly selected dental hygienists nationwide, with 575 individuals responding to questions about their oral cancer knowledge and oral cancer screening practices. The survey findings were presented at the 2004 annual research meeting of the American Dental Education Association and were compared to an oral cancer survey of dentists presented by the authors at the 2003 ADEA's annual meeting.
Some of the findings from the dental hygienist survey were:
The Case surveys of dental hygienists and dentists coincide with American Dental Association efforts to raise awareness of oral cancer and increase cancer screenings by professionals in the dental field. Also the importance of the research findings will help Case rewrite the Case School of Dental Medicine's dental curriculum, which is currently under revision as the dental school strives to train the dentist for the 21st century.
The research group encourages people to be proactive in their oral health care by suggesting that if an oral-cancer screening examination is not done with our routine dental care, then ask your dentist or dental hygienist to do one.
"After all, early diagnosis offers the best chance for cure," stressed Sawyer.