Oral cancer affects 30,000 people each year in the U.S. alone. A national campaign to reduce the incidence of this disease calls upon general dentists to perform an oral cancer screening as part of every patient’s routine dental checkup. Given the devastating consequences of a missed or delayed diagnosis, all dentists should take responsibility for learning how to detect signs of oral cancer in their patients. This authoritative guide was written by a team of experts at the University of Maryland to address this very need. It gives practical, step-by-step instructions for performing an oral cancer examination and for detecting signs of the disease at the earliest stage possible. In addition, the book details comprehensive procedures for managing and rehabilitating patients who have been diagnosed with this disease. Finally, it offers specific advice for counseling patients on how to reduce their risk of developing oral cancer.

ISBN: 0-86715-357-1
978-0-86715-357-6 , 9780867153576
244pp: 204 illus (169 in color)

Table of Contents:

Part I: Diagnosis
1. Epidemiology of Oral Cancer/Remy H. Blanchaert, Jr, MD, DDS
2. Pathogenesis and Progression of Oral Cancer/John J. Sauk, DDS, MS; Mark A. Reynolds, DDS, PhD; and Ricardo Della Coletta, DDS, PhD
3. The Oral Cancer Examination/Janet A. Yellowitz, DMD, MPH
4. Diagnostic Procedures/Robert A. Ord, DDS, MD, MS
5. Premalignant Lesions/Michael A. Siegel, DDS, MS
6. Types of Oral Cancer/Robert A. Ord, DDS, MD, MS

Part II: Management
7. Surgical Management of Oral Cancer/Robert A. Ord, DDS, MD, MS
8. Contemporary Principles of Surgical Reconstruction of the Oral Cavity/Remy H. Blanchaert, Jr, MD, DDS
9. Principles and Complications of Radiation Therapy/Mohan Suntharalingam, MD
10. Principles and Complications of Chemotherapy/Barbara A. Conley, MD

Part III: Rehabilitation
11. Oral Care of the Patient Receiving Chemotherapy/Miriam R. Robbins, DDS, MS
12. Oral Care of the Patient Receiving Radiation Therapy/Miriam R. Robbins, DDS, MS
13. Surgical Treatment of the Patient Receiving Radiation Therapy/Remy H. Blanchaert, Jr, MD, DDS
14. Prosthodontic Reconstruction of the Hard and Soft Palate/Carl F. Driscoll, DMD
15. The Role of Implant-Supported Prostheses/Marvin Baer, DDS, MS; and Remy H. Blanchaert, Jr, MD, DDS
16. Speech Production and Swallowing/M. Cara Erskine, MEd
17. Psychosocial Considerations/Victoria A. Wilson, MSW, LCSW-C

Part IV: Prevention
18. Tobacco Cessation: The Dentist’s Challenge/Jacquelyn L. Fried, RDH, MS
19. Chemoprevention/Barbara A. Conley, MD

Preface:
With approximately 30,000 new cases of oral and oral pharyngeal cancer diagnosed each year in the United States, oral cancer is an important public health issue. This type of cancer is unique in that the dental profession can play a major role in its management. It is estimated that between 65% and 75% of patients with oral cancer will initially present to a dentist. Dentists are involved in the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and prevention of oral cancer. In addition, dental specialists are actively researching the molecular biology of oral cancer, while public health dentists are lobbying for more government-funded tobacco control and other preventive programs.

This book is written specifically for the dental health care provider, including dental students, general dentists, dental specialists, and hygienists; it focuses on the major contributions that the dental profession can make in the field of oral cancer health care delivery. While the general dental practitioner may see only one or two patients with oral cancer in a practice lifetime, the devastating consequences of a missed or delayed diagnosis mandate that all dentists become expert in the diagnosis of such cases. Through its role in the functional rehabilitation of oral cancer patients, the dental profession also contributes significantly to the quality of life of this patient population. Interventions such as tobacco cessation counseling are yet another means by which dental health care providers can effect a positive change in the health status of an entire community. There is truly no other disease in which the dental profession can have such a vital impact.

Experience has shown that the optimal management of oral cancer requires a ‘team’ of interested and dedicated providers. This book was written by the members of such a team at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. It is the editors’ hope that all dentists who read this book will regard themselves as an integral part of a team working toward the universal goal of the optimization of health care delivery to the oral cancer patient.

We wish to express deep and sincere thanks to the contributing authors, whose devotion to oral cancer care—something we witness daily—is evident in the quality of their chapters. Special thanks also goes to Ms Zina McKee for her good humor and diligence in assisting the work of the editors. A final thank you goes to Quintessence Publishing for the advice and help they provided in the preparation of this book.

Reviews

"..The book is extensively illustrated with both clinical photographs as well as radiographs and some histopathological material. While general dental practitioners might not wish to read all of the text, this book is a valuable resource for thos wishing to update their understanding of various aspects of oral cancer. For postgraduate students and specialists this text is a useful summary of the biological basis of oral cancer and the management of the disease."

"....This text is an excellent overview of the broad topic of oral cancer. It would be an excellent text for dental students, restorative dentists or prosthodontists who treat cancer patients and, of course, oral and maxillofacial surgeons."
Reviewed by Robert Chuong, DMD, MD
Today's FDA
February 2001