Oral cancer survey from Case dental school shows dental hygienist's role in catch...( In one of the first national surveys of...),Health

In one of the first national surveys of dental hygienists about their knowledge and screening practices for oral cancers, researchers at Case Western Reserve University's School of Dental Medicine found indications that while dental hygienists view screening for oral cancer an important component of their practice and possess comparable oral cancer knowledge with the general dentist in the private practice, they often do not carry out oral cancer screenings.

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:

• Most dental hygienists place a high level of importance on oral cancer screening, are trained to screen for the cancers and ae non-smokers themselves. However, only 53 perce
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Contact: Susan Griffith
susan.griffith@case.edu
216-368-1004
Case Western Reserve University
19-Apr-2004


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