ABSTRACT Oral cancer persists as a health issue worldwide with significant degrees of morbidity and mortality. The middle and low-income countries continue to report a large number of oral cancer cases primarily due to low awareness, limited resources, and low education levels. Timely screening and early detection are critical to decrease the incidence and overall mortality associated with oral cancer. Its multifactorial etiology and strong association with the use of tobacco and alcohol underscore the requirement for preventive strategies, early diagnosis, and treatment. Effective strategies comprise free screening camps, distribution of educational material, and use of social media to generate awareness. Moreover, since there is a significant difference between the urban and rural populations, measures should be taken at a community level to generate awareness of the disease. There is an urgent need for a strong collaboration of public health education and social services for increased dental care access, irrespective of socioeconomic or ethnic background. The role of dental professionals is also critical in generating awareness among the population and promoting oral health using innovative modalities. Therefore, this review explores various aspects of oral cancer, discussing the epidemiology, incidence, risk factors, clinical features, investigations, preventive strategies, and public health implications, thus highlighting the important aspect of awareness among the general population.
Srivastava et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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