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Oral Cancer Screening Regular dental exams provide a platform for oral cancer screenings. An oral cancer screening is a procedure performed on your both by a to detect cancer. At an early stage, individuals have a greater chance of being cured of cancer with proper treatment and medication than in the later stages. Therefore, early oral cancer screenings can save your life. During an oral cancer screening, tests are conducted to check for abnormal cells in your mouth. Ortega Family Dental helps you in early cancer detection through oral cancer screenings.Why Do You Need Oral Cancer Screenings?Cancer cases have continued to increase globally in recent decades due to the global changes in lifestyle and behavior. To fight off cancer, regular screenings of individuals is important for early diagnosis. Oral cancer screenings help to detect abnormal cancerous cells in your mouth for early treatment. While this screening is necessary for everyone, people with certain backgrounds and behaviors are at a higher risk. These include individuals with a history of cancer, those with human papillomavirus, cigarette and tobacco users, and those who drink alcohol excessively. Individuals with significant exposure to ultraviolet light also have a high risk of oral cancer. What to Expect During an Oral Cancer ScreeningOral cancer screenings comprise a detailed examination of the surfaces of your mouth, lips, cheeks, and tongue. These exams help observe red or white patches, open sores, lumps, and crusted areas on the target areas. Our professionals will use their hands to feel the soft tissues of your mouth and can extend the screening to the back of your throat and the neck to rule out cancer. If you have dentures, the team will require you to take them out to examine the tissues beneath. The team will also examine your saliva for any abnormalities. During this exam, you should open up about any difficulties you might be experiencing while breathing, speaking, swallowing, or jaw movement. This information, coupled with the observation results, will help address underlying problems fully. What to Expect After the ResultsOur professionals will look for abnormallities such as lumps and sores during your oral cancer screening. If any are found, they may require further check-ups. However, before terming them cancerous, we will schedule a follow-up visit in one or two weeks to allow the sores to heal naturally and the lumps to disappear. Our team will conduct further observation on the lumps and lesions during your scheduled visit to check for sores and lump abnormalities that may occur within the period. At this stage, we will extract some cells from the affected regions and take them to the laboratory for biopsy. A biopsy is the only test at this point that will help determine whether the lumps are cancerous or not. If the results come back positive, our team will ensure you access the best care for your cancer treatment. It is important to note that not all lumps and sores turn out to be oral cancer. Dental exams can help detect underlying medical issues early on for treatment. Therefore, maintaining a regular schedule of at least two visits per year is advisable. For more information on oral cancer screenings, call Ortega Family Dental at (904) 914-4008 today. |
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