Your Dentist is the First Line of Defense In Oral Cancer Detection

The dental community is the first line of defense in early detection of Oral Cancer. According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, someone dies from oral cancer every hour of every day in the United States alone. This cancer, found in the mouth, lips or throat, is often highly curable if diagnosed and treated early. Unfortunately, in its early stages, oral cancer can go unnoticed.

Those at high risk for oral cancer include tobacco users, African-American men and heavy drinkers, but anyone can develop oral cancer. According to the Oral Cancer Consortium, 25 percent of people diagnosed with oral cancer have no risk factors. Studies have also determined there may be a link between HPV (human papilloma virus) and oral cancer.

Your dentist and hygienist usually screen you for any signs of oral cancer at your regular checkups, but some symptoms of oral cancer can be invisible to the naked eye. Our office utilizes an FDA approved device to detect oral cancer called a VELscope. The VELscope is non-invasive and uses a bright blue light to emphasize any changes in the mouth that a dentist or hygienist could not normally see.

The problem, for the most part, is that early oral cancer looks like everything else. It looks like a million other injuries and changes in the tissue in the mouth. It's a red spot or a white spot. We see them all the time. But using the VELscope to detect oral cancer can make abnormalities stand out like sore thumbs.

The Oral Cancer Foundation estimates that 34,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year alone, with only 50 percent still being alive in 5 years. The problem is much larger worldwide. Even with these statistics, the experts agree that early diagnosis pushes the five-year survival rate to an astonishing 80 percent. Since oral cancer can affect anyone, without regard to age or gender, it is very important to have regular screenings for this deadly disease. Talk with your dentist about the latest developments and technologies for diagnosing oral cancer.

If you have a mouth sore that doesn't go away and is accompanied by unexplained numbness in the face, mouth, or neck and/or problems chewing, speaking, or swallowing, call my office immediately!  Don't let fear keep you from getting a check-up -- oral cancer that is caught early is treatable and curable.