Dental prosthetist experience with oral mucosal screening and referral

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate dental prosthetists' experiences with screening and referral for suspicious oral mucosal pathology. Method and Materials: Questionnaires regarding oral mucosal screening and referral were mailed to 300 randomly selected dental prosthetists in Australia for selfcompletion. Non-responders were sent replacement questionnaires up to three times, according to the Dillman method. Results: A total of 179 prosthetists returned completed questionnaires resulting in a response rate of 64.9% after excluding 24 due to incorrectly listed addresses. Most participants reported that they checked all new patients for oral mucosal pathology (99.4%) and most reported that they checked all recall patients for mucosal pathology (86%). Most participants had detected a suspicious lesion (86%) and most had referred for a suspicious lesion (77.3%). Conclusion: Australian dental prosthetists appear motivated to perform oral mucosal screening and will refer suspicious oral mucosal pathology when detected. Keywords: diagnosis, mouth cancer, oral mucosal pathology, prosthetist, referral, screening