Understanding the role of general dentists in the process of screening and early diagnosis of oral premalignant and malignant lesions - brief literature review

Abstract

Aim: To indicate about the need for involving general dentists in the process of screening and early detection of malignant and premalignant lesions. To make brief literature review, which lesions are included under the term "oral premalignant lesions", and which lesions should be excluded from this nomenclature, according to the contemporary views and conceptions. To gather in one place the latest information about new diagnostic procedures used worldwide for screening and early diagnosis of premalignant and malignant lesions of oral mucosa. Material and Method: Searching was conducted by electronic selection of published papers over the largest database of published papers, PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/), and its subsequent ramifications PubMed Central (http://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / pmc /), as well as through the database of Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/). Discussion: Of particular importance it is the need to highlight the great role of the general dentist in the process of screening and early detection of oral cancer. Also it must be emphasized the role of the patient, his education and socio-economic status. Conclusion: There is need for additional education of dentists about contemporary understanding of this disease. Also there is a need for education of the population about the oral cancer. © 2012 Gjurcheski J.