Pilot study

Dentists have reported a reluctance to tell their patients they are looking for signs of oral cancer during examinations and often avoid using the word cancer altogether. In order to help dentists overcome this reluctance, an oral cancer communication guide was developed and piloted at King’s College London’s Dental Institute.  The guide aims to show dental practitioners how to raise the issue of oral cancer during a routine appointment without raising anxiety or prolonging the consultation.

To determine whether training in the use of this oral cancer guide could help dentists feel confident enough to have oral cancer related discussions with their patients, a pre and post intervention study was held at King’s College London. The results, published in the British Dental Journal (BDJ), show that the training session had a positive impact by reducing perceived barriers to oral cancer related discussions, increasing self efficacy and increasing oral cancer discussions between dentists and patients.