At this year’s Relay for Life event held on March 22, two dentists from UCF Health Services volunteered to screen participants for oral cancer, in addition to other dentists from the Dental Society of Greater Orlando.
“Relay for Life is a great event because it does not focus on only one type of cancer,” said Gary Lease, Health Services lead dentist. “Dentists are in a unique position to identify cancer of the head and neck.”
Screening for oral cancer is fairly easy for the trained eye and hand. Clients probably do not even notice the dentist conducting an oral cancer screening at their regular check-ups, but they always do; hence the importance of regular dental check-ups.
“Oral health is an important part of a healthy life,” said Aisha Manon, Health Services dentist. “People are not sufficiently aware of the threat of oral cancer. The event was a great way to show our commitment to oral cancer awareness.”
Health Services is a department in the Division of Student Development and Enrollment Services.