Dental professionals are a patient’s primary source of screening within the oral cavity, thus attention must be paid to the most common oral malignancy: squamous cell carcinoma. Historically such malignancies were attributed only to patients with a history of extensive alcohol and tobacco use. However, other risk factors such as human papilloma virus and medication use are shifting the profession’s perception of who may be at risk for oral cancer. According to experts, "the dentist must consider all patients at risk and act accordingly in the history-taking and examination phases of the dental visit" (Kondori I, Mottin RW, Laskin DM, 2011). Due to the newfound understanding of oral cancer risk, the dental professional should take seriously the options for insurance coverage from both the dental and medical insurer for the patient’s exam.
