Oral Cancer & Screenings
Title
It’s Time to Talk About Sex in Dentistry…HPV & It’s Link to Oral Cancer.
Description
The new millennium has brought about great advances in technology and innovation; and one of those advancements is the discovery of HPV’s link to head and neck cancer. Forty years ago, it was postulated a virus called human papillomavirus could cause cervical cancer; today, it is well established that this very heterogeneous virus causes a variety of cancers. HPV is now considered a human carcinogen.
Unlike other cancers of the mouth, HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers are more likely to occur among younger patients, white men, those without the traditional risk factors of tobacco and alcohol, and those with certain sexual histories. HPV’s public awareness has started to grow and has been featured in the mainstream press more frequently. As public awareness continues to grow, so will the knowledge base of the dental health care providers who treat them.
This course has a unique approach to discussing HPV from both a dental and medical perspective by being written and published as a peer-reviewed continuing education course by an RN and an RDH. HPV disease trends, statistics, morphology, transmission, vaccination, and cancer risks will be discussed. Oral serum testing for dental professionals will be presented as well as enhanced oral cancer screenings devices.
Educational Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the oral health care provider will be able to:
Review oral cancer screening techniques and the importance of extra and intraoral screening.
Present HPV morphology, typing and the different systemic infections HPV types can cause in the human body.
Review statistics and transmission of HPV and understand the latest research trends associated with HPV.
Incorporate enhanced oral screen technology, oral serum testing, and educate patients on the benefits of early vaccination.
Title
Want to Find the Fountain of Youth?…Call your Dentist, Not your Dermatologist.
Description
How much sun is too much and are tanning beds really bad for our skin? How does skin physiology and chemistry really affect our appearance and our risk for developing skin and oral cancer? What causes our skin to wrinkle and can “The Hands of Time” really be reversed?
If you want to know the answers to these questions, then this course is for you. The course will help you discover just how inter-linked dentistry is with dermatology; and by understanding this link and learning dermatological pathology in greater depth, your quality of oral cancer screenings will improve as well as your ability to save lives.
Educational Objectives
At the conclusion of this course, the oral health care provider will be able to:
Relate skin anatomy and physiology to the adverse effects of chemical and biological stress specifically of free radicals, oxidative stress, and reactive oxygen species.
Discuss UV exposure and its increased risk for skin cancer and aging effects.
Identify protective agents for the skin.
Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of intraoral and extraoral cancer screenings through a review of common head and neck skin findings.