Prevention of Oral Cancers What To Do

Tongue and Oral Cancers: What to Look For and How to Prevent Them

Much news and reporting has been made regarding cancer. Breast, prostate, colon and skin cancer are among the types you often hear and read about with regards to detection, prevention and treatment. However, many other cancers exist and should also be on your radar—especially when they can be prevented. Tongue and oral cancers can be just as serious as other types of cancer and are often missed by people who are not aware of what they need to look for or what they can do to prevent it.

Oral cancer includes cancers of the cheeks, lips, mouth floor and tongue. It often appears as a sore or growth in the mouth that never goes away. Common symptoms include swelling, lumps, bumps or rough spots inside the mouth or on the lips or gums; unexplained numbness or pain in any part of the mouth, face, neck or ear; sores on the face, neck or mouth that easily bleed and do not heal quickly; feeling like something is caught in the back of your throat; and difficulty swallowing or chewing.

Risk factors include smoking, a family history of cancer, excessive alcohol consumption, poor eating habits and excessive exposure to the sun (most notably for lip cancer). Men make up 70% of oral cancer diagnoses with men older than fifty years having a higher risk.

The good news is that there are preventative steps you can take to minimize your chances of getting any type of oral cancer including limiting alcohol consumption and sun exposure, avoiding all tobacco products and marijuana, eating a healthy diet (especially Vitamin A-containing vegetables) and getting regularly scheduled dental check-ups. You can also conduct a self-exam once a month by checking your lips, cheeks and gums for anything suspicious. Also look at your tongue to see if you notice anything unusual. There is also a strong link between oral cancer and the HPV virus so for young people especially, they need to be very careful about engaging in certain types of sexual activity that can increase the risk of developing the HPV virus which can ultimately lead to some type of oral cancer.

The most important thing to remember is that early detection along with prevention increases your survival rate so it is necessary to be aware of any changes in or around your mouth and make an appointment immediately with your dental care provider if you see something out of the ordinary. As with all cancers, the quicker they are diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome. We at Diamond Braces would be more than happy to provide you with a complete check up to make sure you are not at risk. Visit us at www.diamondbraces.com for further information or to make a free complementary consultation