The good news about oral cancer is that it is easily detected by simply attending your routine dental exams every six months. Oral cancer screening should be a part of your regular exam.
In fact, the dentists are able to feel precancerous tissue changes and once detected in its early stage, the survival rate of oral cancer is 80 to 90%.
WHAT IS AN ORAL CANCER SCREENING?
This test takes only 3 minutes of your time since it consists of a verbal, visual and physical examination and includes the following:
– A complete review of your overall and oral health history so that the doctor can assess your level of risk for mouth cancer.
– In order to locate any abnormalities such as sores and red patches, the dentist must make a visual inspection of all the areas of your mouth. The dentist should inspect the gums, tongue, lips, cheeks, the floor of the mouth, the roof of the mouth, and a far-back section of your tongue.
ORAL CANCER PREVENTION TIPS
Even though oral cancer is prevalent, there are still some measures you can take in order to reduce the risk of its occurrence.
- Practice safe sex.
- Maintain a healthy diet.
- Avoid smoking and the use of all tobacco products.
- Limit or refrain from drinking alcohol.
- Avoid overexposure to the sun, and use sunblock on your skin and lips.
source: http://healthandwellness365.com
