The role of the dental team in preventing and diagnosing cancer: 5. Alcohol and the role of the dentist in alcohol cessation.

Alcohol use contributes to many health disorders and social problems which may affect both the individual and the community, and is a major risk factor for oral cancer and potentially malignant lesions - leukoplakia and erythroplakia. Counselling by doctors and dentists can increase users' motivation to stop alcohol use but is not often applied in a systematic or frequent manner to people presenting with potentially malignant oral lesions. This paper makes recommendations for interventions by health professionals to encourage and aid cessation of alcohol use as a part of prevention of oral cancer.