Assessment of risk factors for oral cancer and patient education activities; and 6. Interest in additional training. Comments

I selected this article because of the importance of the topic. All too often, the roles and responsibilities of dental hygienists are considered primarily superficial. Meanwhile, dental hygienists are in position to contribute tremendously to patient health and welfare to the extent they perform oral cancer screenings routinely. According to the research findings, adherence to such diagnostic practices is sporadic at best and substantially dependent on time constraints, the focus and instructions of employing dentists, awareness of need and importance of the issue, and lack of adequate awareness training in hygienists' educational programs. The results also indicated that many experienced dental hygienists are among the least likely to focus on oral cancer screening simply because the topic was not regularly covered in dental...

Others expressed frustration that their patients knew so little about the risk of oral cancers and the importance of regular dental checkups for that reason in addition to the more commonly understood reasons (i.e. dental health).
The article was highly informative and useful because it reinforced the importance of appreciating the need for regular oral cancer screening at every opportunity. The article provided an important common-sense suggestion that all dental hygienist educational curricula and continuing education programs especially increase their emphasis on oral cancer screening to ensure that all dental hygienists understand the need to conduct cancer screening routinely. The article is appropriate for professional as well as lay readers because it explains the issues very clearly and also includes extensive quotes from practicing dental hygienists grouped by the specific themes listed in the…