Is DOE just for “Oral Cancer” Exam and what if I give patients “False Positives”?
July 7, 2011
DOE is a full oral health exam system not just aimed at screening oral cancer. One of the biggest mistakes that dentists make is over-hyping a single disease like oral cancer while not understating the true value of an oral screening for a multitude of health conditions. The improper communication of these procedures has greatly reduced the perception of the significance and importance of the oral exam.
DOE is to discover any abnormality, no matter what it might be, from dental caries that lead to cavity, decays under old composite, soft tissue problems such as cheek bite and worst of all, early signs of oral cancer.
No single device, such as DOE or X-ray machine for that matter, can deliver 100 percent accuracy or effectiveness in detecting conditions such as oral cancer. Detection and diagnosis is accomplished with the accumulation of data from multiple sources and modalities. DOE is an effective screening device for first level oral exams beyond the tip of the iceberg. Signals of problem, e.g., dark tissue with loss of fluorescence, should lead to further diagnosis including salivary diagnosis and oral pathology exams.
