ORIGINAL ARTICLE DM Laronde KK Corbett Authors’ affiliations: DM Laronde, Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada DM Laronde, Cancer Control Research, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada KK Corbett, School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada Correspondence to: D. M. Laronde Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences University of British Columbia 2199 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z3 Tel.: 604 822 8433 Fax: 604 822 3562 E-mail: dlaronde@dentistry.ubc.ca Dates: Accepted 17 November 2015 To cite this article: Int J Dent Hygiene DOI: 10.1111/idh.12190 Laronde DM, Corbett KK. Adjunctive screening devices for oral lesions: their use by Canadian Dental Hygienists and the need for knowledge translation. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Adjunctive screening devices for oral lesions: their use by Canadian Dental Hygienists and the need for knowledge translation Abstract: Screening for oral cancer and other mucosal conditions is a knowledge-to-action objective that should be easy: there is supportive evidence, it is fast and non-invasive, and the oral cavity is easy to visualize. However, over 60% of oral cancers are diagnosed late, when treatment is complex and prognosis poor. Adjunctive screening devices (ASDs), e.g. toluidine blue (TB), fluorescence visualization (FV), chemiluminescence (CL) and brush biopsies, were designed to assess risk of oral lesions or aid in identification and localization of oral premalignant and malignant lesions. Little is known on how clinicians feel about using ASDs. Objectives: To evaluate use and level of comfort in using ASDs for oral cancer screening among dental hygienists. Methods: Online email survey of a stratified random sample of nearly 3000 dental hygienists from four Canadian provinces. Results: A total of 369 hygienists responded about ASDs. Ninety-three (25%) had used an ASD. Use was associated with six or more continuing education (CE) courses per year (P = 0.030), having a CE course in oral pathology within the last 3 years (P = 0.003) and having a screening protocol (P = 0.008). The most commonly used ASD is FV, which was the tool hygienists felt most comfortable using. Few used brush biopsies. Older graduates were more comfortable using TB (P = 0.014) and CL (0.033). Conclusion: Current evidence and education through CE appears to bolster knowledge translation efforts for hygienists to become more comfortable in the use of ASDs. ASDs with minimal supporting evidence and not specifically targeted to hygienists, such as the brush biopsies, are not well utilized. Key words: brush biopsy; decision-making; fluorescence visualization; knowledge translation; oral cancer screening; oral premalignant lesions; toluidine blue Introduction Oral cancer is a global problem, with more than 300 000 cases diagnosed annually worldwide (1). Screening for oral cancer and oral premalignant lesions (OPL) is a knowledge-to-action objective that should be simple, as the evidence of its benefits is supportive, particularly in high-risk populations; the site is easy to visualize; the examination is fast, painless and non-invasive; and it is believed that most oral cancers are preceded by a clinically visible premalignant lesion (2). However, more than 60% of oral cancers are diagnosed at a late stage when the prognosis is poor and the treatment is complex and associated with severe morbidity (3). Int J Dent Hygiene | 1