676081e55335ae20b23dfaf0 Forbes Oral Cancer Screenings

RDH Magazine Podcast

What's missing? Oral cancer screenings as part of comprehensive exams

Dec. 5, 2024

Find out why it's important for dental hygienists to keep the oral cancer screening as part of their oral examinations. Remember: you could save someone's life!

Kathy S. Forbes, BS, RDH

Jackie Sanders, MBA, RDH, Chief editor, RDH magazine

Kathy Forbes, dental coding expert, discusses the fact that many dental offices are not performing oral cancer screenings as part of their comprehensive exams. When dental hygiene appointment times are decreased, oral cancer screenings are often dropped.

Kathy tells the story that from 2012 until recently, she had to find new dentists in a few states as she moved around. She was told there would be a comprehensive oral exam that included a head neck exam. None of the offices she chose actually came through on that promise, and she found this disturbing, especially with oral cancer on the rise.

This is not good for patients, but also not good for dental health-care workers, who owe it to their patients to provide the best care possible.

Hear what else Kathy and I discuss, including some coding tips.

RDH Magazine Podcast

How to code for prophys when DAs perform them

Kathy S. Forbes, BS, RDH

RDH Magazine Podcast

The power of a sincere apology

Shelly M. Turner, MBA, MASL, BASDH, RDH

About the Author

Kathy S. Forbes, BS, RDH

Kathy S. Forbes, BS, RDH, has been a dental hygienist, educator, speaker, author, consultant, and seminar and study club leader for more than 40 years. She holds a license with the ADA for Current Dental Terminology, which allows her to provide the most up-to-date understanding of current procedure codes. Kathy currently serves as a director for the Dental Codeology Consortium, reviewing and developing procedure codes relevant to dental hygiene practice that are presented to the Code Maintenance Committee of the American Dental Association in March each year.

About the Author

Jackie Sanders, MBA, RDH | Chief editor, RDH magazine

Jackie Sanders, MBA, RDH, has over four decades of continual career development and experience in dentistry. As the chief editor of RDH magazine, she strives to remain a proactive personality in the continual advancement of the profession. She has been defined as a motivated trendsetter and dependable colleague and is inspired by her true passion of helping others to achieve their personal goals.