Dental practitioners are trained to diagnose premalignant and malignant lesions, and individual dentists have been making these diagnoses for years. However, there has been no agreement on who and how to screen for oral cancer or on when and where to refer patients for management. As a result, the problem of late diagnosis has not been addressed.

In recognition of this problem, in March 2008 the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program (BC OCPP) (http://www.orcanet.ca/) partnered with the College of Dental Surgeons of BC to develop Guidelines for the Early Detection of Oral Cancer.  A special issue on oral cancer in the Journal of Canadian Dental Association (JCDA) was published in April 2008 featuring the guidelines and other informative articles. Key information on approaches to applying these guidelines in day-to-day clinical practice was presented at the Pacific Dental Conference in 2008. The following are the presentations from that strategic event.

Introductory Comments
Ms. Heather MacKay
Registrar, College of Dental Surgeons
 FLASH POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO, 4 MIN

What are clinical guidelines and why have them?
Dr. Mark Elwood, VP, Family & Community Oncology, BC Cancer Agency 
 FLASH POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO, 13 MIN
Link to aritcle: Guidelines (JCDA:74(3):245-252)

Early Detection of Oral Cancer in BC
Dr. Michele Williams
Specialist in Oral Medicine, Oral Medicine Leader, BC OCPP 
 FLASH POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO, 33 MIN
Link to article: Evaluation of a Suspicious Oral Mucosal Lesion (JCDA:74(3):275-280)

Oral Cancer Community Screening  Initiative
Ms. Denise Laronde, Dental Hygienist,
PhD (Candidate), BC OCPP
 FLASH POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO, 19 MIN
Link to article: Initiating Oral Cancer Screening (JCDA:74(3):239-242)

Mobile High-risk Community Outreach
Dr. Catherine Poh, Specialist in Oral Pathology, Community Outreach Leader, BC OCPP 
 FLASH POWERPOINT PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO, 20 MIN
Link to article: Together We can Make a Difference (JCDA:74(3):261-266)