Eighty percent of hygienists participating in an RDH eVillage survey in the March 2009 issue said they perform oral tissue screenings on "every patient at every appointment."
The March 27 issue of RDH eVillage asked seven questions regarding screenings for oral cancer, and 66 readers participated. In addition to the above statistic, 14 percent said screenings are conducted once a year, and 5 percent said screenings are based on "evident risk factors."
Sixty-one percent said they perform "visual and palpitation screens of the mouth, tongue, and glands of the jaw and neck." Thirty-six percent they use a combination of palpitation and adjunctive tools such as ViziLite Plus, Oral CDx, or VELscope.
Seventy-one percent said dentists and dental hygienists in a dental practice split the duties of performing oral tissue screenings. Only 17 percent indicated that the hygienist is the only one performing the screenings.
In addition, 71 apercent said the fee assessed for a screening is $20 or less, while 15 percent said the fee was more than $50.
The survey also asked if any incentives were in place for a staff member to use an adjunctive tool (Oral CDX, ViziLite Plus, or VELscope) as part of the oral tissue screening. Eighty-five percent, however, said their practice does not offer any incentive to provide the service with the available products.
The RDH eVillage survey was designed after a dentist asked Dental Economics editors about patients who decline oral tissue screenings. According to the RDH eVillage respondents, only 14 percent said "many patients do" decline the service. The most common reason (69 percent) for refusal was "perceived cost to patient." But an additional 21 percent of practitioners said patients "resist being identified as a potential cancer victim."
