Clinical examination of the head and neck

In the head and neck examination portion of the ADA health screening program approximately 6% of the examinees were found to have at least one abnormality. Three patients had lesions that were highly suspected of being malignant. Most of the examinees were unaware of their condition, but a small percentage were aware and had chosen to have no diagnostic or curative procedures initiated. Three patients had manifestations of systemic disease of which they were unaware. A method of doing a head and neck examination was demonstrated to the dentists, and the finding of 6% of the dentists with some abnormality indicates the significance of the head and neck examination.