.....must add my two cents worth: Jerry, your impassioned response is admirable...and appropriate. I do have a question about how to advise people about where to go when they first suspect oral cancer. I still am a bit un-clear about where to suggest that they go for lesions not directly related to the teeth--the dentist or the ENT.

I agree that one should ask the dentist about his methods for doing a cancer screening, but in my case, when I asked my dentist if my problem area could be serious, (I didn't then know about "cancer screenings" but I certainly knew about oral cancer in general) he reported that he had spent a significant time in a hospital setting getting training, so I could rest assured that my problem was only ANUG. He missed it THREE times....at two routine check-ups, cauterizing it on the second of those.....and at the end, when it had spread along my gumline and onto my palate, when he cauterized it again! He simply was NOT educated enough to recognize cancer when it stared him in the face!

So...asking is a good thing...and a good start.....but they all are going to say that yes, they do a cancer screening "every time I look in your mouth." That's not good enough. If they do not spend some time actually DOING a cancer screening, by moving your tongue around and wrapping it in guaze to retract it.....if they do not put in some effort and some time specifically for a cancer exam, then they are not doing a thorough screening. And these days, if you can find a dentist....like Jerry....who is knowledgeable enough and who understands the seriousness of the screening process well enough....to have equipped his office with a Velscope, or at least a Vizlight....then you know that you have found someone who can do a proper screening.

I didn't know enough at the time to ask my dentist all of these things, but he implied that he had the training to know the difference, and he did NOT, obviously.

So now it is my project too....to educate the public about their role in their own oral heath, especially the importance of becoming familiar with their own healthy mouths so that they can recognize something different when it comes along, and to respond quickly by seeking dental advice, AND to insist on a return visit in two weeks, to ascertain that, indeed, the recommended treatment was effective,and then to insist on a biopsy if the area has not improved. This would save much time and many overlooked lesions. The other side of my awareness project is to educate the public about the responsibility that the dental profession has and how they must question their own dentist to be sure that he or she is as motivated and educated as they should be to properly protect their patients. If you don't like their answers, then find someone else. And I want to emphasize to the dental profession their serious responsibility to their patients. If they have not had recent training, then they should spend their required continuing education hours in a refresher course in oral cancer discovery and diagnosis.