Dental Checkups Are Not Just About Cavities
At David A. Rice, DDS we urge people to come in twice a year for a dental examination and cleaning. If you avoid biannual dental checkups because you don’t believe you have any cavities, perhaps getting an oral cancer screening is a more compelling reason to see your dentist regularly. (While your dentist is checking for oral cancer, we encourage you to have a thorough dental evaluation as well!)
In the last few decades, lung and breast cancer have attracted a lot of public attention. There is relatively less awareness of oral cancer even though it claims almost 10,000 lives every year in the United States. If you smoke or have acquired HPV, you have a higher risk for developing oral cancer.
At David A. Rice, DDS, we work to raise awareness of oral cancer and the significance of early diagnosis. Courtesy of the CDC, Oral Cancer Foundation, and Johns Hopkins Medicine, here are 5 vital things to know about oral (mouth) and oropharyngeal (back of mouth and throat) cancers.
1. About 80% of individuals with oral cancer use some variety of tobacco (cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes).
2. 40% of men and women who receive late-stage diagnosis of oral cancer pass away within five years. The survival rate for early stage diagnosis is 90%.
3. In many cases, it is extremely challenging for the individual to detect oral and oropharyngeal cancers because they can produce inconspicuous symptoms or no symptoms at all. Any abnormality in the mouth or throat, even if small and painless, should be analyzed by a dentist or doctor.
4. HPV (the most frequent sexually transmitted disease in the US) is the most common cause of oropharyngeal cancer. Of the many strains of HPV, HPV16 is the one most regularly linked to oropharyngeal cancer.
5. Black males have a higher risk of dying from oral cancer than whites.
Sources:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/oral_health/oral_cancer_and_tobacco_85,P00900/
http://oralcancerfoundation.org/understanding/hpv/hpv-oral-cancer-facts/
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/conditions/index.html
Contact David A. Rice, DDS: 847-741-2353
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
1972 Larkin Ave Ste 1
Elgin, Illinois
60123