Improving oral cancer survival: the role of dental providers.

Oral cancer accounts for 2 percent to 4 percent of all cancers diagnosed each year in the United States. In contrast to other cancers, the overall U.S. survival rate from oral cancer has not improved during the past 50 years, mostly due to late-stage diagnosis. Several noninvasive oral cancer detection techniques that emerged in the past decade will be discussed, with a brief overview of most common oral cancer chemopreventive agents.