Alessandro Villa, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Alessandro Villa, a dentist, took note when his patient said they had a sore throat that was going on six weeks. The patient had seen other health care providers, but it had not been successfully diagnosed or resolved. Upon further examination, Dr. Villa noticed one of the patient’s tonsils was larger than normal. “Those were two red flags, and I referred the patient to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor,” he says.
The ENT ordered a biopsy, and the patient was unfortunately diagnosed with an HPV-related tonsillar cancer. Treatment outcomes of head and neck cancer are better when detected early, which this case was as a result of the dental visit with Dr. Villa.
“It takes less than five minutes to conduct an oral cancer screening,” he says. “Those few minutes can save a life.”
April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and the American Cancer Society estimates there will be 54,000 new cases of oral and oropharyngeal cancer this year, with 11,230 deaths from the disease. Oral and oropharyngeal cancer includes cancers of the mouth and back of the throat and is the sixth most common cancer in the world. Most, but not all, oral cancers are related to tobacco use, heavy alcohol use and a small portion to human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. Most oropharyngeal cancers are related to high risk HPV infections.
Because dentists are examining the mouth– and they often see their patients more regularly than physicians – they are well positioned to detect oral cancer. led by Dr. Villa and the ADA Clinical Evaluators Panel finds dentists screen for oral cancer nearly as often as they look for cavities. The study, published in the April issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association, finds 90% of surveyed dentists who perform risk assessments during regular patient check-ups screen for oral cancer.
Dr. Villa is an oral cancer expert and American Dental Association spokesperson. He is available to discuss oral cancer detection and prevention, including HPV vaccines. Additional information about is available at MouthHealthy.org.
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