Part of your routine dental visit is a cancer screening test. Dentists and dental hygienists look at your mouth, tongue, and nearby tissue much more closely than you do. They can find pre-cancerous or cancerous spots in the early stages of growth.
The images don't only show all your teeth, but also your sinuses, jaw joints, and jaw bones. These photos can help determine if wisdom teeth are impacted and can even help diagnose a tumor.
Oral cancer can present itself in many different ways, which could include: a lip or mouth sore that doesn't heal, a white or reddish patch on the inside of your mouth, loose teeth, a growth or lump inside your mouth, mouth pain, ear pain, and difficulty or pain while swallowing, opening your mouth or chewing.
There's no routine screening test or program for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. Still, many pre-cancers and cancers in these areas can be found early (when they're small) during routine oral exams by a dentist, doctor, dental hygienist, or by self-exam.
What kind of cancer can a dentist detect? A dentist can perform an oral exam of the inside and outside of your mouth area to look for signs of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.
Fine needle aspiration cytology
A very small needle is used to draw out a small sample of cells and fluid from the lump so it can be checked for cancer.
Early signs of mouth cancer one should look out for include: Mouth sores that easily bleed and do not heal. Loose teeth. Red or white patches on the tonsils, gums, tongue, or the mouth lining.
In the early stages, mouth cancer rarely causes any pain. Abnormal cell growth usually appears as flat patches.
patches of rough, white, or red tissue. a hard, painless lump near the back teeth or in the cheek. a bumpy spot near the front teeth. growths of tissue on the roof of the mouth.
Odontogenic tumors are any kind of abnormal growth in and around the jaw and teeth; many of these tumors are considered to be benign. In unusual cases, odontogenic tumors are malignant, meaning they are likely to spread.
Ameloblastoma is a rare, noncancerous (benign) tumor that develops most often in the jaw near the molars. Ameloblastoma begins in the cells that form the protective enamel lining on your teeth. The most common type of ameloblastoma is aggressive, forming a large tumor and growing into the jawbone.
Persistent mouth pain. A lump or thickening in the cheek. A white or red patch on the gums, tongue, tonsil, or lining of the mouth. A sore throat or persistent feeling that something is caught in the throat.
Mouth cancer can cause pain or a burning sensation when chewing and swallowing food. Or you might feel like your food is sticking in your throat. Difficulty swallowing can also be caused by a narrowing of the food pipe (oesophagus).
Mouth cancer on your gums can sometimes be mistaken for gingivitis, a common gum inflammation. Some of the signs are similar, including bleeding gums. However, gum cancer symptoms also include white, red or dark patches on the gums, cracking gums, and thick areas on the gums.
Oral cancer rates increase with age. The increase becomes more rapid after age 50 and peaks between ages 60 and 70.
Mouth cancer tends not to cause any noticeable symptoms during the initial stages of the disease. This is why it's important to have regular dental check-ups, particularly if you are a smoker, a heavy drinker or a betel chewer, because a dentist may often be able to detect the condition during an examination.
Stage 1 oral cancer: A stage 1 oral cancer tumor means the primary tumor is 2 cm across or smaller, and no cancer cells are present in nearby structures, lymph nodes or distant sites.
Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer or cancer of the oral cavity, is often used to describe a number of cancers that start in the region of the mouth. These most commonly occur on the lips, tongue and floor of the mouth but can also start in the cheeks, gums, roof of the mouth, tonsils and salivary glands.
Most oral cancers are a type called squamous cell carcinoma. These cancers tend to spread quickly.
Sometimes, dentists misinterpret oral cancer symptoms as indications of other conditions instead of cancer. When this misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose mouth cancer happens, the patient can lose valuable time in a limited window of opportunity for successful treatment and cure of the malignancy.
For oral cancer, the dentist will work in conjunction with an oral surgeon and an oncologist to coordinate treatment. First, the cancerous oral tumor will need to be removed. Afterward, the patient will undergo radiation and chemotherapy if needed.
Oral cancer screenings should be requested by the patient (even if there are no apparent signs of the disease) at every dental checkup. Dentists will usually already be looking for symptoms and signs of oral cancer during a checkup, but it does not hurt to specifically ask for a screening.
It can be cured if found and treated at an early stage (when it's small and has not spread). A healthcare provider or dentist often finds oral cancer in its early stages because the mouth and lips are easy to examine.
If the cancer has not spread beyond the mouth or the part of your throat at the back of your mouth (oropharynx) a complete cure may be possible using surgery alone. If the cancer is large or has spread to your neck, a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be needed.