Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers in Texas: examining incidence rates in dental health professional shortage areas

Purpose: Oral cavity (OC) and oropharyngeal (OP) cancer rates have increased annually rising in the U.S. and Texas. Dental providers could play a key role in lowering OC/OP cancer rates through prevention and screening, but Texas faces a significant shortage of dental health professionals, affecting access to dental care, including OC/OP cancer prevention and early detection. This study aims to explore the link between OC/OP cancer rates and these dental shortage areas in Texas. Methods: We analyzed OC/OP cancer incidence in Texas using SEER-Medicare data for patients aged 65 and over from 2012 to 2017. Rates per 100,000 were stratified by age, gender, and dental health provider shortage area (DHPSA) status (yes/no). Zero-Inflated Poisson Regression models were used to adjust for patient characteristics in studying cancer incidence, Late-stage diagnoses were assessed using logistic regression. Results: The incidence rate was 27.3 per 100,000 people in Texas. DHPSA counties had lower incidence rates (24.3 per 100,000) compared to non-DHPSA counties (29.8 per 100,000; p = 0.0423). Among patients with OC/OP diagnoses, those living in a DHPSA county had lower odds of advanced stage diagnoses (aOR: 0.79; CI: 0.64–0.96) than those in non-DHPSA counties. Conclusion: The findings highlight the complex link between dental providers and OC/OP cancer diagnoses, noting differences in indicators of need based on DHPSA location. Limited local dental services may lead to underreported cancer cases. Further research on dental service usage could improve OC/OP outcomes by prioritizing interventions from dental professionals.