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The dental professional's role in early detection
A thorough extraoral examination can lead to the detection of abnormalities in the throat area, including thyroid cancer. Dentists and dental hygienists are taught in school how to perform extraoral assessments, but how many actually include the extraoral exam in their protocol?
Dr. Monica Parham graduated from dental hygiene school in 1987 from Northeast Mississippi Community Col- lege. She earned a bachelor's degree in dental hygiene in 1989 from the Uni- versity of Southern California, and then graduated from dental school at the Uni- versity of Southern California in 1993. Her practice is located in Germant own, Md. Dr. Parham feels the extraoral exami- nation is of utmost importance, as she has detected abnormal nodules in the throat area on five different patients. Upon referral, four of the abnormalities were thyroid cancer and one was a benign thyroid tumor.
The patients diagnosed with thyroid tumors from Dr. Parham's practice were all thin, healthy females. Four were ages 28 to 38, and one was in her 50s with a history of breast cancer. All had children, all were nonsmokers, and none drank alcohol to excess. One was a pediatrician who had a complete physical...