Oral cancer may occur due to poor dental care and poor diet. In India, 90 -95% of the oral cancers are squamous cell carcinoma. The international agency for research on cancer has predicted that India's incidence of cancer will increase from 1 million in 2012 to more than 1.7 million in 2035. Looking at above scenario of oral cancer, it should be obvious that oral cancer screening should be a part of the regular dental checkup. A dentist can detect oral cancer signs but that involves the use of advanced technologies.
In India, the patients are hardly willing to pay extra even if it is the screening of oral cancer. In such situation, should dentist proceed for screening if they find something related to oral cancer in a patient is becomes a dilemma. Please share your opinion whether dentist should charge extra or not for a screening of oral cancer.
