Oral inspections, as part of your dental health check every six months, are important for a variety of reasons. They can keep at bay the scourge of plaque and tartar, they can clean and polish your teeth above and below the gums, and the can catch potential trouble areas before they become problems. And one of the most notable of these trouble areas is the growth of cancerous tumours.
Your dentist, with a keen eye, can identify trouble areas in your mouth during your oral inspection. Up to 75% of all cancers of the head and neck begin in the mouth, and upwards of 30% of these begin in the tongue alone. Skin cancer tumours can often begin on your lips, even on the inside of your lips, the result of overexposure to UV rays. Such growth areas are identifiable by your dentist, who can then gauge whether or not you should visit a specialist or an oncologist.
What they are looking for are areas of growth. Cancer tumours often present as lumps, growing at odd rates, or which appear suddenly. The trick, as with many cancers, is to catch them early on. They are far more treatable under these circumstances, and can more easily be beaten.
The same risk factors for most cancers hold true in the mouth. Tobacco use, heavy drinking, and overexposure to the sun can increase your odds of developing cancer in the mouth. But your twice-annual dentist visits can help to catch it in its early stages, and reduces the odds of it becoming unmanageable. So don’t skip those visits!