Accurate, Convenient, and Fast Oral Screening for Early Detection
What Causes Oral Cancer? Is It Common?
Oral cancer refers to the cancer of the mouth and the throat. It has affected an estimated 53,000 people in the US population. If it is detected early enough, oral cancer will not become life-threatening. Regardless of your age, gender, and status in life, it is crucial for you to be aware of the risks, predisposing factors, and precipitating factors of oral cancer. Sometimes, this type of cancer is found in people with little to no risk factor.
Some of the risk factors are the following:
-
Low Immune Response
A weak immune response attracts opportunistic and incurable diseases like cancer to take advantage of the healthy cells. -
Alcohol and Tobacco Use
Using tobacco of any kind, especially cigarette smoking, significantly increases oral cancer risk. The risk goes up even more when paired with alcohol use. -
Age
The risk always increases as the age goes higher. About 25% of new cases affect people younger than 55 years old. -
Sun Exposure
Uncontrolled sun exposure may lead to sun damage. This sun damage also increases the risk for melanoma, which is often found on the lips.
Symptoms of Oral Cancer
The most typical symptoms of Oral Cancer include the following:
- A white or red patch on the mouth
- Any swelling or thickening
- A sore throat or a feeling of foreign body obstruction
- A persistent sore on the face, neck, or mouth
- Pain in the ear
- Difficulty in eating, chewing, or swallowing
- Difficulty moving your jaw
- Hoarseness or a sudden change in voice
- Unexplained bleeding in the mouth
What’s Oral Cancer Screening? Is This Important?
In most clinics, oral cancer screening is almost always included in every checkup. It only takes a few minutes of your stay. A quick inspection will be performed. This inspection usually follows a series of visualizations starting from your cheeks, lips, throat, palate, and the area under your tongue.
Oral cancer screenings also include checking for any appearance of bumps, lumps, or tender areas. In the presence of suspicious findings, you will be requested to revisit the clinic in 10-14 days for further evaluation. There are also instances when we need to refer you to another specialist.
These screenings provide you with early detection, which plays a crucial role in diagnosing suspected oral cancers. Also, not all suspected cases turn out to be cancers. Other diseases have almost similar symptoms, but most of them are benign.
For the sake of early detection, oral screenings can tremendously impact your oral health. Having a maximum of two non-invasive oral screenings per year will give you the peace of mind you deserve regarding oral health. Screenings are the best chance for you to detect something suspicious and treat it right away. Early detection may also result in better treatment outcomes.
The following are common signs of oral cancer that you must watch out for in every screening:
- A sore or lesion that hasn't healed within two weeks
- A feeling of stiffness in the jaw
- A bump or a bump that has unexpectedly appeared
- A sore throat that won't go away
