[DENTIST AND EARLY DETECTION OF ORAL CARCINOMA].

Oral cancer is one of the ten cancers with the worst prognosis. Higher mortality rate is due to the fact that the majority of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Early stage of the disease causes no discomfort and symptoms start to present in later stages. Oral cancer can be detected in its earliest stage by simple examination of oral mucosa. Oral mucosa can be easily examined during routine dental examination. The examination itself is noninvasive, takes no more than one minute, does not require any special equipment, and poses no discomfort to the patient. Apart from better knowledge about the physiological and pathological characteristics of oral mucosa, dentist is in an ideal position to perform oral mucosa examinations every day, since he/she regularly sees the patient oral cavity. In Croatia, between 300 and 400 new cases of oral carcinoma per year are diagnosed at the sites that are visible during routine dental examination. Since oral cancer in its early stage does not cause any symptoms, dentists should be sensitized/motivated to perform mucosal as well as dental examinations in all patients irrespective of the patient's lack of complaint.