Oral Cancer Screening
Dentists are able to detect oral cancers at an early stage.
Early Detection by your Dentist
Oral cancers can be routinely identified by your dentist at an early stage, making it critically important to see your dentist for an oral cancer examination. Oral cancers begin without symptoms and originate in all different areas of the mouth, including the lips, tongue, salivary glands, gingiva and palate. Squamous cell carcinoma has been identified as the most common type of oral cancer and it can be malignant.
When diagnosed at an early stage, treatment for oral cancer is more effective than late stage treatment. Changes to the appearance or feeling of your tongue, gums or other areas of the mouth should be evaluated by your dentist. Suspicious lesions found by the dentist may be referred for biopsy & histologic analysis. The following suspicious lesions will be investigated:
- Non-healing ulcers
- white, yellow or pink ulcers which fail to heal or slow healing sores that bleed easily
- White patches (Leukoplakia) and Red patches (erythroplakia)
- white, red or mixed patches on the floor of the mouth, tongue and other areas of the mouth that have an unknown cause
- Sores and Lumps
- pain associated with thickened or enlarged tissue in the throat or mouth
- Growths & Hard tissue changes
- oral cancers can be associated with sexually transmitted diseases, which can present as various lesions of the mouth
- rapidly growing lesions of the jaws
How can I reduce my risk for developing oral cancer?
Most oral cancers are associated with smoking, tobacco and alcohol consumption. The combination of frequent smoking or tobacco use with regular alcohol consumption places an individual at a much higher risk for developing oral cancer. For individuals interested in quitting any of these habits, we support your decision and can provide you with resources and tools to help you quit and lower your risk for oral cancer.