This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Given the conclusion of the Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health In America that all our citizens do not have equal access to dental services, the American Dental Trade Association (ADTA)/Santa Fe initiative to support research programs to investigate possible causes for this inequity is most welcome. While the research from their initiative is likely to identify numerous causes, one of the most prevalent maybe the lack of information on the part of the public concerning the importance of oral health and of the necessity of regular oral health examinations. However, a recent study by Alfano and Horowitz suggests that when presented with information about the prevalence of oral cancer, the public will visit a dentist. This finding, taken together with the availability of a new product for the testing of oral cancer, a brush biopsy called OralCDx, suggests an opportunity to test the hypothesis i that an educational campaign designed to raise public awareness of the life threatening statistics on oral cancer together with the message that oral cancer screening is available at a local dental clinic will result in visits to dentists by those members of the public who do not regularly seek access to dental services. A corollary to this hypothesis is that a given number of those that seek the free screenings, when informed of the need for additional services to soft and hard oral tissues, will remain with the practice to obtain these services. In this proposal we describe a feasibility study, which begins with an educational campaign to inform the public of the incidence of oral cancer and to offer a screening for oral cancer.
The aim will be to entice new patients to obtain oral cancer screening. At the testing site, the OralCDx test will be used for screening of oral lesions identified during the examination. In addition, as part of the study, each patient will receive a full mouth examination of hard and soft tissues and, when appropriate, will be advised of the need for additional dental services. The project will: 1) track the number of new patients that seek the oral cancer test in response to the campaign, 2) track the number of patients with an oral lesion 3) track the results of the OralCDx brush biopsy 4) track the number of patients that return for additional services. 5) For those patients with an abnormal brush biopsy result who have a scalpel biopsy subsequently, compare the results of the brush biopsy and scalpel biopsy. At the conclusion of the 3-6 month study period, the number of returnees as a result of the oral screening examination will be compiled and reported. An increase in this number will support the hypothesis that connecting oral health to a potentially life-threatening disease such as oral cancer can increase utilization of oral health services.
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