Oral cancer. It is a rather frightening phrase which represents something people hope to avoid during their lifetimes. Moore Family Dental has the technology to screen for oral cancer; screening is important because the survival rate is higher when it is detected and treated in its early stages.
Primary care physicians generally do not check or screen for oral cancer; it is typically the duty of the dentist to do this. Although a traditional check can identify suspicious areas which may require additional testing, Moore Family Dental’s Orascoptic DK lesion screen instrument takes this type of screening a step further. This technological tool provides the dentist with a valuable means of seeing more than might otherwise be visible. This means that oral cancer or even precancerous areas of the mouth can be identified.
The American Dental Association (ADA) explains that a “flat, painless white or red spot or a small sore,” may be nothing to worry about but a test can confirm that. When it comes to oral cancer, it is better to be safe than sorry, especially given the fact that it is so much more treatable when it is caught in the early stages. In some cases, you may know, or think you know, what is causing a sore spot in your mouth; however, caution may be indicated even then. The ADA notes, “If you have a sore with a likely cause, your dentist may treat it and ask you to return for re-examination.”
Some people are at higher risk for developing oral cancer. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons notes, “Those at an especially high risk of developing oral cancer are over 40 years of age, heavy drinkers and smokers, or users of smokeless tobacco, including snuff.” However, oral cancer also strikes some people who do not have any risk factors. The Oral Cancer Foundation explains, “A small percentage of people (under 5%) … get oral cancers from no currently identified cause. It is currently believed that these are likely related to some genetic predisposition.”
With some types of cancer, there is a high level of awareness among the general public. This may be partly due to public service campaigns, educational efforts, and screening programs. It may be easy to assume that oral cancer is rare because it is not as widely known; however, the Oral Cancer Foundation dispels that notion. The Foundation reports that “mouth cancer will be newly diagnosed in about 100 new individuals each day in the US alone, and a person dies from oral cancer every hour of every day.”
These numbers add up all too quickly: “Approximately 37,000 people in the US will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2010. This includes those cancers that occur in the mouth itself, in the very back of the mouth known as the oropharynx, and on the exterior lip of the mouth.”
In fact, the American Dental Hygienists Association reports that oral cancer is such a “major cause of death and disfigurement in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute,” that it is “more common than leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, and cancers of the brain, liver, bone, thyroid glad, stomach, ovaries, and cervix.”
Given these statistics, the Orascoptic DK cancer screening technology is clearly beneficial to patients. With this technology at Moore Family Dental, you can feel comfortable that your oral cancer screening is thorough.