Dental hygienists and dentists as providers of brush biopsies for oral mucosa screeningShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: International Journal of Dental Hygiene, ISSN 1601-5029, E-ISSN 1601-5037, Vol. 21, no 3, p. 524-532Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Oral cancer is a severe and potentially fatal disease usually starting in the squamous epithelium lining the oral cavity. Together with oropharyngeal carcinoma, it is the fifth to sixth most common malignancy worldwide. To limit the increase in the global oral cancer incidence over the past two decades, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution urging member states to integrate preventive measures such as engagement and training of dental personnel in screening, early diagnosis, and treatment into their national cancer control programs.Aim:The aim of this study was to investigate if dental hygienists (DHs) and dentists (Ds) in general dental practice care can be entrusted to perform brush sampling of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), and to evaluate their level of comfort in performing brush biopsies.Methods: Participants were five DHs and five Ds who received one day of theoretical and clinical training in oral pathology to identify OPMDs (leukoplakia [LP], erythroplakia [EP], and oral lichen planus [OLP]), and perform brush sampling for PAP cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) analysis.Results: Out of 222 collected samples, 215 were adequate for morphological assessment and hrHPV analysis. All the participants agreed that sample collection can be incorporated in DHs and Ds routine clinical duties, and most of them reported that sample collection and processing was easy/quite easy.Conclusion: Dentists and DHs are capable of collecting satisfactory material for cytology and hrHPV analysis. All the participating DHs and Ds were of the opinion that brush sampling could be handled routinely by DHs and Ds in GDP.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2023. Vol. 21, no 3, p. 524-532
Keywords [en]
cancer, erythroplakia, leukoplakia, oral lichen planus, potentially malignant oral disorders, oral
National Category
Dentistry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-62173DOI: 10.1111/idh.12713ISI: 001022848100001PubMedID: 37401636Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85164321570Local ID: HOA;;897205OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-62173DiVA, id: diva2:1788795
2023-08-172023-08-172023-08-17Bibliographically approved