title: Ability of Dental Students in Spain to Identify Potentially Malignant Disorders and Oral Cancer.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the ability of students at the School of Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, to diagnose oral cancer and other potentially malignant disorders, as well as to compare their ability at different stages of the learning process and evaluate their knowledge retention. Students were surveyed after they had studied oral medicine and oral pathology at two time points: midway through and near the end of their studies. The survey consisted of questions about 40 photographs of benign oral lesions, malignant oral lesions, and potentially malignant disorders. The response rate for all groups was greater than 70%. The results showed that these students' overall success rate in differentiating benign from malignant lesions averaged 73.9%. When the distinction for potentially malignant disorders was included, their average overall success rate decreased to 42.8% (p<0.001). Furthermore, the students' average success rate was at its lowest at the end of the dental program (p<0.001). Results from this study suggest that, given these students' difficulties in identifying potentially malignant disorders, an increased emphasis on cancer education in the dental curriculum may be needed for future practitioners to master this ability.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cerero-Lapiedra is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Esparza-Gómez is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Casado-de la Cruz is a doctoral student, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Domínguez-Gordillo is Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Corral-Linaza is Senior Professor and Master of Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; and Dr. Seoane-Romero is Senior Professor, Department of Stomatology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain rcererol@ucm.es.
authors.forename: Rocío
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerero-Lapiedra
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cerero-Lapiedra is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Esparza-Gómez is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Casado-de la Cruz is a doctoral student, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Domínguez-Gordillo is Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Corral-Linaza is Senior Professor and Master of Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; and Dr. Seoane-Romero is Senior Professor, Department of Stomatology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Germán C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Esparza-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cerero-Lapiedra is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Esparza-Gómez is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Casado-de la Cruz is a doctoral student, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Domínguez-Gordillo is Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Corral-Linaza is Senior Professor and Master of Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; and Dr. Seoane-Romero is Senior Professor, Department of Stomatology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Casado-de la Cruz
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cerero-Lapiedra is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Esparza-Gómez is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Casado-de la Cruz is a doctoral student, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Domínguez-Gordillo is Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Corral-Linaza is Senior Professor and Master of Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; and Dr. Seoane-Romero is Senior Professor, Department of Stomatology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Adelaida A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Domínguez-Gordillo
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cerero-Lapiedra is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Esparza-Gómez is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Casado-de la Cruz is a doctoral student, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Domínguez-Gordillo is Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Corral-Linaza is Senior Professor and Master of Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; and Dr. Seoane-Romero is Senior Professor, Department of Stomatology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corral-Linaza
authors.affiliation: Dr. Cerero-Lapiedra is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Esparza-Gómez is Professor, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Casado-de la Cruz is a doctoral student, Department of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Domínguez-Gordillo is Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; Dr. Corral-Linaza is Senior Professor and Master of Orofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; and Dr. Seoane-Romero is Senior Professor, Department of Stomatology, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Seoane-Romero
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003792:Dental Records; D004497:Education, Dental; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019242:Oral Medicine / Q000193:education; D010339:Pathology, Oral / Q000193:education; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013030:Spain; D013335:Students, Dental; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods
keywords: Spain; clinical skills; dental education; diagnosis; oral cancer; oral examination; oral lesions; oral medicine