Gain by Joining Hands with OCF

Welcome to a new layer of dentine expertise-- as part of OCF. Thereby imparting an edge to your practice by the following:-

• Benefit your Practice;
• Get a unique edge;
• Bridge Research and Practical Efforts.

Benefit to practice

Counseling by you is important. Verbal information and advice given by you makes an impact and you can also have written information in form of leaflets or brochure in clear and simple language for patients.

Transform your dental clinic as a unique clinic

A unique clinic providing oral cancer screening and reminders about unhealthy lifestyles. Avail the opportunity and acquire the skills to screen for pre-cancerous lesions, including areas of leukoplakia (an abnormal white patch of cells) and erythroplakia (an abnormal red patch of cells). Leukoplakia and erythroplakia lesions on the mucous membranes. This involves a step-by-step value addition to your knowledge. This comprises :-

Step-by-step Head and Neck Evaluation

• A.History Taking

The first step in screening for oral cancer is completion of a patient history, which should include:

1. Family History of Head and Neck Cancer.
2. Review of Oral Habits and Lifestyle.

Obtain background information related to risk for oral cancer, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption and dietary or nutritional status.

3. Pertinent Signs and Symptoms.

Identification of a persistent white patch in the mouth, a nonhealing ulcer, a lump or bump, submucosal fibrosis, spontaneous or unexpected oral bleeding, paresthesia, dysphagia or trismus warrants further investigation. If any of these conditions persists for more than 3 weeks following removal of identified etiologic factors, re-evaluation or referral for further investigation (or both) is recommended.

• B. Visual inspection

Equipment required for visual inspection includes a tongue depressor or mouth mirror, gauze and a good light source for the following.

1. Extraoral examination
2. Intraoral examination

• C. Visualization aids

If lesions are seen in the mouth, learn about the following procedures to find abnormal tissue that might become oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer:

• Toluidine Blue Stain: Learn more about this procedure in which lesions in the mouth are coated with a Blue Dye. Areas that stain darker are more likely to be cancer or become cancer.
• Fluorescence Staining: Increase your knowledge about this procedure in which lesions in the mouth are viewed using a special light. After the patient uses a fluorescent mouth rinse, normal tissue looks different from abnormal tissue when seen under the light.
• Exfoliative Cytology: Get the know-how to collect cells from the lip or oral cavity. A piece of cotton, a brush, or a small wooden stick is used to gently scrape cells from the lips, tongue, mouth, or throat. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal.
• Brush Biopsy: Learn to remove cells using a brush that is designed to collect cells from all layers of a lesion. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal.