Oral cancer screening in private dental practices in a developing country: opportunities and challenges.
Private dental practitioners constitute approximately 40% of all registered dentists in Malaysia, and this group affords an avenue for prevention and early detection of oral cancer. However, such activities are still limited. This study investigated the feasibility of incorporating opportunistic screening of oral cancer in the private dental setting.



Dentists were recruited through two main dental associations in Malaysia and attended a 1-day training session on recognizing abnormalities within the oral cavity. Following the training, the dentists conducted screening and provided risk habits cessation advice at their respective clinics for 6 months. The impact of the program was evaluated by determining the number of patients who were screened and/or provided with risk habits cessation advice.



Twenty-six dentists took part in the program and conducted opportunistic screening on a total of 2603 individuals. On average, they screened about 23.0% of their patients and 5.1% were given risk habits cessation advice. Notably, dentists who had lower patient load were more likely to conduct opportunistic screening.



While the participating private dentists state that they have a role in performing opportunistic screening and providing risk habits cessation advice, these activities are still not a priority area in the private clinics, strongly suggesting that strategies to motivate dentists in this setting are urgently needed.
Outreach Research Team, Cancer Research Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Amyza
A
Saleh
Oral Cancer Research Team, Cancer Research Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.|Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Yink Heay
YH
Kong
Outreach Research Team, Cancer Research Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Nabihah
N
Haron
Outreach Research Team, Cancer Research Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Siti Fatimah
SF
Aripin
Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners Association (MPDPA), Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
Malliga
M
Vadiveloo
School of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.|Malaysian Dental Association (MDA), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Haizal
H
Hussaini
Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.|Oral Cancer Research and Coordinating Centre (OCRCC), University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Rosnah Binti
RB
Zain
Oral Cancer Research Team, Cancer Research Malaysia, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.|Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Sok Ching
SC
Cheong
D000328:Adult; D003906:Developing Countries; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D004498:Education, Dental, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018570:Risk Assessment
early detection and prevention; opportunistic screening; oral cancer; oral cancer awareness; private dentist