You likely already know that it is important to visit your dentist at Forest Lake Family Dental at least once every six months for a professional dental cleaning and checkup. When you do this, our dentist can monitor you closely for gum disease and cavities. But what a lot of people don’t know is that this also allows our dentist in Forest Lake, MN, to act as your first line of defense against oral cancer.
Oral cancer often presents as a sore or growth that does not fade. It includes cancers of the tongue, cheek, lips, hard and soft palate, the floor of the mouth, and throat. When not detected early, oral cancer can be life-threatening. For this reason, oral cancer screening is a vital part of each dental checkup.
What Happens During an Oral Cancer Screening?
Before your exam, our dentist will update your medical history. This is so that they are aware of any changes to your health, medications, or recent hospital visits. Our dentist will ask questions about risk factors for oral cancer, including your smoking and drinking habits. Those who participate in both smoking and drinking have a significantly increased risk of oral cancer. Men are twice as likely as women to develop oral cancer.
During your oral cancer screening in Forest Lake, our dentist will examine areas inside and outside your mouth. The screening will include an extra-oral examination of the neck and head and an intra-oral exam of the tongue, cheeks, lips, floor of the mouth, gum tissues, and palate. Our dentist is looking for any abnormalities during this examination, including lumps, sores, irregular tissue changes, and discoloration. If they find anything of concern, they will recommend a biopsy or refer you to a specialist.
What Are Signs of Oral Cancer?
If you notice any of the following symptoms, visit our dental clinic near you a soon as possible for a checkup:
- White and red patches in your mouth
- Rough spots, lumps, or bumps on your gums, lips, or tongue
- Pain in your ear
- Sudden, unexplained weight loss
- Challenges speaking, chewing, or moving your jaw and tongue
- Persistent sores on the neck, mouth, or face that bleed and do not heal within a few weeks
- Unexplained numbness or tingling in any area of the face or neck
Do Not Wait for Your Checkup
A good rule of thumb is to visit your dentist about lesions or bumps that do not go away on their own within two weeks. If you notice difficulty chewing, speaking, swallowing, or any pain, numbness, or change in your bite, you should also visit our dentist as soon as possible.
It is important to realize that pain is not always present with oral cancer, so just because a lesion does not hurt does not mean that it isn’t potentially problematic, and it is always better to get a lesion checked if you are wary of it.
Getting regular dental checkups along with oral cancer screening near you will help you detect early issues with your oral and overall health. The best thing to do is book a professional dental cleaning and checkup once every six months. Our team is happy to provide dental checkups and oral cancer screenings to all of our patients. Please contact us to book an appointment with our highly experienced dentist at Forest Lake Family Dental today!