Empowering Physicians, Nurses, and Other Non-Dental Healthcare Providers in the Prevention and Early Detection of Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer

Oral cancer is the sixth-most common malignancy in the world. Statistics on the prognosis of oral and oropharyngeal cancer and survival rates provide a compelling rationale for enlisting non-dental healthcare providers in patient education and the prevention of oral cancer, and in the screening and referral of patients with suspicious lesions. This module provides information about oral and oropharyngeal cancer that is most relevant to non-dental healthcare providers, and offers recommendations for effectively and efficiently incorporating into everyday patient care disease-management strategies that help ensure the timely identification of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the oral cavity and oropharynx. The clinical presentation and the signs and symptoms of potentially premalignant lesions in the oral cavity and oropharynx will be discussed, as well as an overview of associated risk factors. The module concludes by offering important talking points to educate patients at risk for oral and oropharyngeal cancer, and step-by-step directions to assist non-dental healthcare providers in performing a head and neck examination.