Penn Experts Lead Update of ADA Oral Cancer Guideline
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 29, 2026 – In advancement of early detection of oral cancer, researchers from Penn Dental Medicine’s Center for Integrative Global Oral Health are leading the development of national living guidelines for patients, dentists, and other healthcare professionals.
Announced today by the American Dental Association (ADA), this new living clinical practice guideline reinforces that dental visits can be the first line of defense against oral cancer.
One person will die every hour from oral cancer in the U.S., making early detection key to saving lives. During regular exams, a dentist checks the mouth and lips for unusual sores or other abnormalities. A dentist also checks the neck for additional changes that may need follow-up care. If a lesion is detected during the oral exam, biopsy remains the best next course of action and the only definitive method to confirm the diagnosis of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) and oral and lip squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs).
“Oral cancer is a disease where timely recognition and appropriate management can have profound significant benefits for patients. Our goal with this living guideline is to ensure that dentists have recommendations they can trust, not only based on the best evidence available today, but continually updated as important new evidence emerges. By bringing rigorous evidence synthesis directly into clinical guidance, we can shorten the distance between research and practice and improve care for patients,” said Dr. Alonso Carrasco-Labra, Professor and Director, Cochrane Oral Health Collaborating Center at Penn Dental Medicine.
A team of methodologists at CIGOH at Penn Dental Medicine led development of the updated guideline with a multidisciplinary panel convened through the ADA’s Living Guideline Program. This first-of-its-kind program allows recommendations to be continually updated as new evidence becomes available. “At CIGOH, our team of methodologists monitors emerging evidence in real time and integrates it into our guidelines as soon as it meets pre-defined evidence thresholds. This living model is how we close the research-to-practice gap, putting effective tests and interventions into clinicians’ hands shortly after compelling evidence is published,” said Olivia Urquhart, Associate Director of Health Care Guidelines at the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.
For clinicians, this updated guideline is a science-first approach to patient care. Regular oral exams for early detection of oral cancers can lead to better patient outcomes and may mean the difference between life and death.
For patients, keeping regular dental appointments is critical, along with not ignoring a sore, lump, red or white patch, or other changes in the mouth that last longer than two weeks. If these symptoms or changes persist for more than two weeks, follow up promptly with a dentist.
About the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health at Penn Dental Medicine
The Center for Integrative Global Oral Health (CIGOH) at Penn Dental Medicine is the school’s first policy center, focused on seeking creative evidence-informed solutions to address unmet oral health needs by providing critical infrastructure to develop and test effective interventions and policy. Within CIGOH, the Cochrane Oral Health Collaborating Center at Penn Dental Medicine engages researchers from around the globe in systematic reviews and meta-analysis of research to develop the best available evidence on oral health topics to help clinicians, policymakers, patients, and caregivers make well-informed care decisions. For more information about CIGOH, visit www.dental.upenn.edu/CIGOH and for more information on Penn Dental Medicine, visit www.dental.upenn.edu.