Oral lesions in patients participating in an oral examination screening week at an urban dental school.
BACKGROUND
Dental education must emphasize early diagnosis and management of oral mucosal disease, including early detection of oral premalignant lesions and cancer. The authors evaluated clinical findings of oral screening examinations of dental patients during a one-week period in an urban dental school clinic.


METHODS
Third- and fourth-year dental students conducted clinical screening examinations for all dental patients of record seen during the Yul Brynner Foundation's Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week in April 2006.


RESULTS
Of 262 patients, 100 (38.2 percent) reported that they had used tobacco for a mean of 8.1 years. Most patients reported having denture or tooth and gingival problems. The dental students reported abnormal findings in 55 patients (21 percent). Two patients had suspected premalignant lesions that were diagnosed as lichen planus and traumatic keratosis.


CONCLUSIONS
The one-week screening provided an educational opportunity for the dental students, and the results demonstrate the value of having a focused week to reinforce the importance of head and neck and oral soft-tissue examination. The finding of mucosal lesions in 21 percent of patients of record reflects the fact that lesions were present but undetected. In addition, there are important implications for teaching and patient care. The screening week provided an opportunity for students to be active in a national campaign for cancer detection, and it represents an opportunity for visible community participation in the recognition of oral mucosal diseases in dental training programs and broadly for the profession.
Epstein
Joel B
JB
Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, Interdisciplinary Program in Oral Cancer, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill. 60612-7213, USA.
Villines
Dana
D
Drahos
Gary
G
Kaufman
Eliezer
E
Gorsky
Meir
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D003778:Dentures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005882:Gingival Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000453:epidemiology; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012466:Salivary Gland Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult