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Hygienist performing The Cotten Method of Oral Cancer Screening on dentist

Screen the Screener™ Launches This Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Mar 31, 2026

As a dental professional, when was your last comprehensive oral cancer screening? Have you had one within the last year? Not just a quick look at the tongue or a rushed exam when there is a cancellation in the schedule at your dental office, but an intentional, comprehensive, visual, tactile, extraoral, and intraoral evaluation — The Cotten Method™ of Screening.

In my oral cancer courses and hands-on oral cancer screening workshops, I ask dental hygienists and dentists if they have had a comprehensive oral cancer screening within the last year. The sad truth: the majority are not getting screened, and neither are other team members.

This prompted me to reach out to the Rocky Mountain Dental Conference (RMDC) in my home state of Colorado. I shared with them the uncomfortable truth: the majority of people working in dental offices are not receiving an annual comprehensive screening. I asked whether they would be open to me offering free screenings on the exhibit floor for conference attendees. They said yes!

2025 was our first year at RMDC, and we were back again this year. Each year and each day, there was a line of people in the dental community waiting to be screened, with some from 2025 returning for their yearly screening. I recruited an amazing team of dental hygienists — all of whom have attended my oral cancer screening course or workshop and screen their patients using The Cotten Method™ of Screening in their daily practice. A comment we heard repeatedly: "No one has ever done this before."

This January, we screened 123 dental hygienists, dentists, dental assistants, administrative team members, and vendors. Of those screened, 23 referrals were made to oral surgeons, ENTs, and dermatologists.

We are not immune to oral, oropharyngeal, or any head and neck cancers.

This is a shift in mindset — early detection starts with us, but it must include us. April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. Yes, screen every patient. My call to action is to schedule a day to screen every team member in your dental office.

Wondering where to start? My online program walks you through The Cotten Method™ at your own pace. It offers a printable certificate of completion, lifetime access, and 3.5 CE credit hours. Grab your coworkers, complete the program, and screen each other this April. We can be so focused on our patients that we neglect our own health. This month, take care of each other — you just may save a colleague's life!

Enroll HERE

Share the campaign on Facebook HERE

About the Author: Susan Cotten, BS, RDH, OMT, is the founder and CEO of Oral Cancer Consulting and the creator of The Cotten Method™ of Cancer Screening. An internationally recognized speaker, author, and dentistry's leading oral cancer coach, she works with dental professionals and DSOs to increase confidence in comprehensive screenings, reduce liability, and improve early detection rates. Susan serves as the Dental Workgroup Lead for the Alliance for HPV Free Colorado, an instructor for the National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH), and a Regional Coordinator and RDH Advisory Board Member for The Oral Cancer Foundation. A passionate advocate for registered dental hygienists leading the charge in preventive care, she has performed over 60,000 oral cancer screenings in her career and was honored with the 2018 Sunstar RDH Award of Distinction. Reach out to her for speaking or consulting at oralcancerconsulting@gmail.com.

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Screen the Screener™ Launches This Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Dental Hygiene is Expanding

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