I’ve just returned from San Francisco where the ADA held the annual meeting this year. Dr. Scott Benjamin spoke at The Academy of Dental Management Consultants’ Annual Meeting and held the room spellbound. His message: The mortality rate for Oral Cancer has not changed in 50 years. Oral Cancer is the sixth most common cancer, 3 times more common than cervical cancer. More women die from Oral Cancer every year than from Cervical Cancer. More men than women die every year from Oral Cancer.
When Oral Cancer is caught in Stage 1 the survival rate is 90% but shockingly 70% of oral cancer is diagnosed in the late stages. There is also a 60% rise in the number of people under 40 years old who are being diagnosed with oral cancer and this is linked to HPV.
Dr. Benjamin is passionate about doing what he can to change these statistics and he is challenging everyone in dentistry to do their part to encourage more and better screening for oral cancer. Do your research and learn how you can make the difference for your patients and their families.