Not very many people are too worried about oral cancer. In fact, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of the population don’t really think about this disease at all.
You may not think that oral cancer is a serious risk, but there are about 50,000 people in the US who will develop this disease in 2018 alone and out of this number, it’s estimated that 10,000 of them will die on the first year. That’s about 20%, while 43% will perish within 5 years.
We don’t mean to frighten you about oral cancer. We just want to tell you that with this form of cancer early detection is a must. That’s why we make it part of our regular checkups; the earlier it’s detected the higher your chances of survival.
During your oral cancer screening, our dentist will check for mouth sores, or for white or red patches. If they’re seen during the checkup, we may recommend a biopsy to see if the sores are cancerous or not. Most of the time, these abnormal sores turn out to be non-cancerous. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Your risk of oral cancer increases if you already had been diagnosed with oral cancer, and now it has returned. You also increase the risk of oral cancer if you consume a lot of tobacco or alcohol.
We offer this oral cancer screening as part of our service, and we’re glad to help. Meanwhile, you can do everyone a favor by reducing the risk on your own. This means drink responsibly, and don’t smoke or chew tobacco at all!