Cancer is a deadly disease. Even with several medical advancements, cancer is that one thing that will surely take your life away if it wants to and if not diagnosed at an early stage. Cancer and other body parts like the ovary and breast can also occur in the mouth. This type of cancer is known as oral cancer.
Dentists suggest that there must be at least two annual general check-up visits to the dentistry. You can look up family dentistry. For example, you can look for Fort Lauderdale Dentistry to find one nearby.
Oral cancer includes different cancers of the lips, cheeks, mouth floor, palates, sinus, throat, and tongue. During your general examination, the dentist will look for the signs of cancer around these areas that include:
- Bumps or lumps in/around the mouth
- Difficulty in swallowing, chewing, and/or speaking
- Frequent bleeding in the mouth or the gums
- Sensitive and painful sores around, inside or outside the mouth that haven’t healed for some time.
- Red or white colored patches within the mouth
- Eroded lip patches
- Loss of senses in some part of the mouth
- A feeling of something stuck in the throat for over two weeks
- Extreme weight changes
- Change in teeth or denture structures
If any of the symptoms are visible, the first thing to do is schedule an appointment with your dentist. Rember, the earlier your diagnosis happen, the better it is to control cancer.
Over 50,000 people in The United States of America have had oral cancer in the year 2019. This situation is vulnerable in the cases of smokers (smoking vape, cigarettes, tobacco, cigars). They are six times more exposed to attracting the changes of oral cancer as compared to non-smokers. People who chew tobacco tend to be at 50% more risk of developing lip, cheek, and gum cancer.
Oral cancer can also happen in cases where there has been a history in the family. Many people with other factors like excessive drinking of alcohol and outrageous exposure to direct sun rays during young age fall victims to this disease.
Oral cancer, just like any other cancer, is removed by surgically removing the cancer lumps and providing the patient with seatings of chemotherapy and radiation to destroy & kill the remaining cells that can possibly spread to other areas of the body.
