Oral Cancer Self Exam

Home Care

The inside of the mouth is lined with a special type of skin know as ‘mucosa’. This tissue is smooth and coral pink in appearance. Any alterations in appearance could be a warning sign of unhealthy changes in these tissues. The most serious of these is oral cancer. The rate of oral cancer is rising, accounting for at least 5-7% of all cancers. A sobering finding is that the survival rates are dropping. The 10 year survival rate for oral cancer patients is less than 48%.

That translates to less than one of two patients fails to survive for 10 years. The following can be signs of a beginning pathologic process or cancerous growth:

Reddish or whitish patches and color changes anywhere in the mouth
A sore that fails to heal or bleeds easily and repetitively
A lump or thickening on the skin lining the inside of the mouth
Chronic sore throat or hoarseness
Difficulty in chewing or swallowing

These changes can be detected on the lips, cheeks, gum tissues around the teeth, tongue, roof of the mouth, or neck. Pain is not usually a symptom in the early stages. However, chronic facial or oral pain without obvious cause or reason may also be at risk.

We recommend performing an oral self-examination monthly and remember to ask your dentist to do an examination at every visit. The mouth is one of your body’s most important and earliest warning systems.

Do not ignore suspicious lumps, sores or tissue changes. If you have additional questions concerning any of these findings, please contact us or stop by our office so that we can provide professional advise.