Oral Cancer

You may not realize it, but every time we do an oral exam in our office we are also doing an oral cancer screening.  Although oral cancer occurs more often in those who use tobacco products or those who consume large quantities of alcohol, it also occurs in 25% of the population who do not smoke or who use alcohol only socially.

Early signs of oral cancer are tiny red or white spots, sores that bleed easily, color changes of the oral tissues, a thickening or crust or small eroded area, and pain tenderness or numbness anywhere in the mouth or lips.

Early detection of oral cancer greatly improves the prognosis of the disease.  Recently there has been a new technique developed to help diagnose suspicious areas in the mouth or lips.  It is called the brush biopsy.  With the brush biopsy we can easily test for oral cancer.  Most early lesions are indistinguishable from common spots people get from time to time in their mouth.  The only reliable way to determine if these spots are a problem is to have them examined.  Now, if an area is suspicious, we can painlessly and without surgery use this technique to have the cells diagnosed accurately with a microscope. Ninety five per cent of the time we will receive a report that indicates that there are no problems.  In the 5% that show abnormal cells, we will have discovered the problem so early that the chances for successful treatment are excellent.

If you want to learn more about this technique ask us or see the web site at www.oralcdx.com.