Oral Cancer More Common Than Many Think

According to the American Cancer Society, about 30,000 new cases of mouth cancer are diagnosed annually in the U.S. About half of those who have oral cancer die within five years. Early detection is the key to treating the cancer at curable stages and reducing oral cancer deaths.

Oral cancer is particularly dangerous because in its early stages it may not be noticed by the patient, as it can frequently prosper without producing pain or symptoms they might readily recognize, and because it has a high risk of producing second, primary tumors.

Your dentist should be performing Oral Cancer evaluations at every periodic dental examination. This includes a visual examination of all of the soft tissues, including the tongue, floor of the mouth, the sides of the tongue and the back of the throat. 

Whenever our office finds some suspicious area, we perform a simple and painless brush biopsy on the area. The brush biopsy causes little or no bleeding and no anesthetic was required. The specimen is sent to the laboratory for evaluation. 

The use of tobacco products greatly increases your odds of contracting oral cancer. Tobacco use in all its forms is number one on the list of risk factors in individuals over 50. Historically at least 75% of those diagnosed at 50 and older are tobacco users.

Early evaluation of oral pre-cancerous lesions can have a dramatic impact on oral cancer mortality rates. An estimated 8,100 people will die from mouth cancer this year. That comes to one death from oral cancer every hour of every day.