When you visit your dentist for a regular check-up you don’t expect the dentist to do oral cancer screening. Yet, for the most part regular dental check-ups can find pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions in your mouth that you may overlook but your dentist will not. Early detection can mean the difference between survival or not.
The dentist usually performs an oral cancer screening by thoroughly examining your mouth. They will also examine your face, neck, lips, tongue, lymph nodes, thyroid gland and saliva glands for any abnormalities. If you have dentures, they will have to be removed to allow the dentist to thoroughly examine your mouth.
People who drink alcohol, smoke or use smokeless tobacco are at a higher risk of getting cancer. However, the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has recently been discovered to cause oral cancer. For this reason there has been higher numbers of young people with symptoms of this disease. Screening is very important whether you fall in these groups or not. This is because there are cases of oral cancer that occur in people with no risk factors whatsoever.
There are some dentist who will also offer additional testing of the pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions found to determine a course of treatment. Oral exams are the best way to detect these lesions so it is very important to schedule regular visits with your dentist. If at any time you find any lesion in your mouth whether painful or not, it is important to have your dentist examine it immediately.
Visit Wilton Manors Dental in Wilton Manors, FL for full oral cancer screenings.