Dr Shankar Iyer suggests people to get an oral check up once a year to be Oral Cancer Free

“We need to make our humanity Oral Cancer Free” this is the beacon call from Dr. Shankar Iyer an eminent Prosthdontist and Oral Implantologist.  He feels Oral Cancer is one disease that can be eradicated from the face of the earth.  The incidence of Oral Cancer in India is one of the highest in the world contributing to one third of the world’s cancer cases. 

Tobacco usage including chewing tobacco, betel-quid chewing, excessive alcohol consumption, unhygienic oral condition, and viral infections like HPV are some of the risk factors for the increasing rates of oral cancer.  Another prevalent orally debilitating disease is “Sub mucous Fibrosis” a pre- cancerous condition that is precipitated by Manekchand, Pan Parag and other recreational oral agents.  

Dr. Iyer is a strong proponent of tobacco cessation and cautions all of his patients to quit smoking and gives them options to choose ways and means to quit tobacco.  His office will refuse treatment sometimes if he determines that the outcomes of his treatment will be significantly affected by continued use of tobacco. 

One of Dr. Iyer’s vision is to eventually erect a sign in every office that will follow his recommendation against tobacco “This is a Cancer free Office” .  “Just like how the medical profession is fighting against cervical cancer and breast cancer through early detection, it behooves every person to do a self oral exam at the least to check for spots that could become cancerous”  he adds vociferously to state “ Oral Cancer most often is self inflicted and self exam can possibly cut its incidence to one third.”  For what it is worth Dr. Iyer strongly recommends everyone to visit a dentist atleast once a year for a full oral exam.  According to him Dentistry becomes expensive by delaying the comprehensive exam. It is the least expensive office visit.  In India is it almost equal to the cost of a movie ticket.  “Skip a movie night and invest in your oral health  it is a life saving effort that does not take much time or resources”  is how he jokingly draws a parallel.  While it may sound facetious and innocuous, it does evoke an action agenda in our busy schedule.  Perhaps its time to institute legislation against known oral carcinogens and implement strict measure to ensure that these products are not sold in the open market. “ An ounce of prevention is worth a thousandth of cure “ is very apt when it comes to oral health ! 

Dr. Shankar Iyer is the first Asian to serve as a President of the oldest dental implant organization– the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.  He is also a Fellow of several prestigious Academies including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow) and the Greater New York Academy of Prosthodontists.  He maintains a private practice in New Jersey and also teaches at Rutgers University School of dental medicine. He travels about 5 times to india to do advanced courses and conducts training programs that are only available in the US. His passion for education benefitted over 3000 dentists around the world and he is busy  almost every weekend either lecturing or conducting courses to train dentists in advanced techniques.

From Brand Desk