Phone: 910-762-3481
Reasons You Should Get An Oral Cancer Screening
You may be surprised. Each year, 35,000 people in America get diagnosed with oral cancer, and there are more than 8,000 fatalities every year from this disease. In the last 10 years, dental professionals have witnessed a significant rise in the quantity of such cases in patients under age 30 without any identifiable risk factors for developing this disease. About 25% of cases don’t have any risk factors (like alcohol or tobacco use) for mouth cancers, according to the Academy of General Dentistry.
Typically, because mouth cancer is painless in its early phases and frequently goes unnoticed until it spreads, most of these low-risk, young patients are not diagnosed until they’re already experiencing loss of function or chronic pain. But, if detected early on, oral cancer may be cured. Early oral cancer detection improves the survival rate to 80% or more.
If you regularly visit your dentist, you’re likely already getting a mouth cancer screening during your routine dental visit and do not even know it. Your dentist checks your mouth and neck for indications of oral cancer like irregular tissue changes, lumps, or discolorations. The most frequent oral cancer sites include the floor of the mouth, the tongue, tissues in tongue’s back, gums and lips. The examination is painless and quick.
With a 5-year survival rate as low as sixty percent, mouth cancer is frightening. Protect yourself by being checked for the disease. Here are 4 reasons to add “mouth cancer screening” to your wellness check-up.
It is easy: Just ask the dentist to look for indications of oral cancer within your routine dental examination.
It may save your life: Mouth cancer is an awful disease — however, it’s possible to increase your odds of survival by a minimum of twenty percentage points if the disease is caught early on.
It isn’t expensive: When a mouth cancer examination is integrated into your routine examination, there isn’t any extra cost unless follow-up treatments are necessary.
It is best to err on the side of caution: Even if you do not have mouth cancer, isn’t it best to be certain?
Are you in need of general dentistry services in Wilmington, NC? If the answer is yes, please feel free to get in touch with Phelps Family Dentistry right away at 910-762-3481.