Dental Checkups Are Not Just About Cavities
At OKC Smiles we encourage people to come in twice a year for a dental examination and cleaning. If you abstain from semiannual dental checkups because you don’t believe you have any tooth decay, perhaps getting an oral cancer screening is a more compelling reason to see your dentist regularly. (While your dentist is checking for oral cancer, we urge you to have a thorough dental evaluation as well!)
Oral Cancers Don’t Get as Much Attention
In the last few decades, lung and breast cancer have drawn a lot of public attention. There is relatively less awareness of oral cancer even though it claims almost 10,000 lives every year in the United States. If you smoke or have acquired HPV, you have a higher risk for developing oral cancer.
Early Diagnosis is Critical
At OKC Smiles, we work to raise awareness of oral cancer and the significance of early diagnosis. Courtesy of the CDC, Oral Cancer Foundation, and Johns Hopkins Medicine, here are 5 important things to know about oral (mouth) and oropharyngeal (back of mouth and throat) cancers.
1. About 80% of men and women with oral cancer use some type of tobacco (cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes).
2. 40% of individuals who receive a late-stage diagnosis of oral cancer die within five years. The survival rate for early-stage diagnosis is 90%.
3. In many cases, it is extremely difficult for the individual to detect oral and oropharyngeal cancers because they can produce unobtrusive symptoms or no symptoms at all. Any abnormality in the mouth or throat, even if small and painless, should be examined by a dentist or doctor.
4. HPV (the most frequent sexually transmitted disease in the U.S.) is the most common cause of oropharyngeal cancer. Of the copious strains of HPV, HPV16 is the one most regularly linked to oropharyngeal cancer.
5. Black males have a substantially higher risk of dying from oral cancer than whites.
An oral cancer check is easy!
A visual oral cancer exam is relatively quick and convenient, especially as compared to other cancer screening tests such as colonoscopies and mammograms. If an abnormality is discovered during an exam, the patient is referred to an appropriate specialist for further testing and diagnosis.
Sources:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/oral_health/oral_cancer_and_tobacco_85,P00900/
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/conditions/index.html
Contact OKC Smiles:
405-634-7303
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
930 SW 107th St
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
73170
