The role of dental surgeon in early oral cancer diagnosis

Oral cancer appears as a public health problem, late diagnosis often leads to mutilating surgeries and bleak prognosis. Most of the cases are diagnosed late, and the prognosis and survival improves considerably when the patient has an early diagnosis. In Brazil, the neoplasia still presents high levels of incidence and mortality, mainly affecting males sex. The oral cavity is an anatomical site that is easy to access for the examination and allows direct vision of the structures, which facilitates the identification of initial lesions, making possible the early diagnosis of oral pathological conditions. This paper describes a case of Epidermoid Carcinoma affecting the ventral of the tongue, classified as T2N0M0, in a male patient, feoderma , 57 years old, smoker and alcoholic. Etiological factors, clinical features and prognosis are discussed, as well as the role of the dental surgeon in the early diagnosis of oral cancer, suggesting the need for population education programs and professionals to identify early symptoms of the disease.