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ORAL CANCER ADVICE HOME
Oral cancer in its beginning stages is often painless and difficult to detect without a proper dental examination, and any type of a mouth sore which does not heal after
a couple of weeks should be checked by your dentist.
What is oral cancer?
Oral cancer is an aggressive growth of malignant cells of the mouth, which can begin as sores or painful areas caused by smoking, chewing tobacco, alcohol or continuous friction from ill-fitting dentures or oral appliances.
Of the over 3000 new cancer cases per year in Canada, approximately 2.3 percent of those are oral cancers. It is more deadly than melanoma or cervical cancer, and the five year survival rate for oral cancer is just below 50 percent. Early detection, however, greatly increases the survival rate to
about 80 percent.
Be assured that we conduct regular oral cancer screening examinations on our patients, during which we check the head, neck, lips, cheeks, gums, tongue, floor of the mouth and roof of the mouth for any abnormal tissue changes. If any suspicious lesions are identified, we recommend that a tissue specimen or biopsy be taken and analyzed.
By eliminating the risk factors associated with oral cancer and being aware of the signs and symptoms to watch for, you can help to prevent it.
RISK FACTORS:
- Smoking and chewing tobacco-especially if combined with heavy alcohol consumption
- Heavy alcohol consumption-particularly if combined with tobacco use
- Excessive sun exposure to the lips
- Age-oral cancer is more common in people over 50
- Gender-oral cancer occurs more in men than women
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:
- A sore on the lip or in the mouth that will not heal
- A lump on the lip, mouth or throat
- A white or red patch on the gums, tongue or lining of the mouth
- Unusual bleeding, pain or numbness in the mouth
- A sore throat that will not go away, or a feeling that something is caught in the throat
- Difficulty or pain with chewing or swallowing
- Swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable
- A change in the voice and/or pain in the ear that will not go away
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