The Impact of Academic Oral Medicine Education on the Early Recognition of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: a Cross-Sectional Image-Based Study

Oral cancer can be suspected on visual examinations, but inadequate practitioner awareness contributes to diagnostic delays. The aim of the present study was to assess the ability of dental students and practitioners with different levels of experience to correctly recognize oral carcinoma using clinical pictures representative of all oral mucosa sites and clinical appearance. 25 dental students, who had recently attended the undergraduate Oral Medicine module of the Dental School University of Bologna (DS), 30 junior dental practitioners (JDPs), and 44 senior dental practitioners (SDPs) were asked to evaluate pictures of lesions of oral cavity using an anonymous online questionnaire. Forty randomly ordered clinical pictures were selected, of which 20 were representative of oral cancers at different stages and the other 20 pictures were representative of benign lesions. To evaluate the suspicion of oral cancer, the participants had to choose one of the following options for each picture: yes; positive uncertainty; negative uncertainty; no. The DS showed a higher main score (32.2±2.9) and lower uncertainty (32%) than both JDP (27.9±2.9; 43.75%) and SDP (28.7±3.5; 48.5%). One-way ANOVA revealed a significant between-group difference (F = 14.34; p<.001). Our findings underscore the role of structured academic training in oral medicine in enhancing early OSCC detection and revealed the need for continuing education to improve the rates of early detection of oral cancer. Limited diagnostic accuracy among dental practitioners highlights the need for solid education and continuous training to improve oral cancer early detection.