Taking action to prevent oral cancer before its too late

Oral cancer hits more than 30,000 Americans every year but you can minimize the risk by making plans to make sure its caught early enough.
The very first indications of dental cancer may be a very small, but harmful,
oral spot or sore that you are not even aware of.
In a regular examination, your dentist will carefully examine the inside of your mouth and tongue.
If they notice a flat, painless, white or red spot or a small sore, this may be absolutely harmless. But harmful spots or sores often look the same as harmless ones.
To ensure that a spot or sore is low risk, your dentist may prefer to perform a regular test, such as a brush test. This collects cells from the lesion which can them be examined.
Any good results from a brush test must usually be confirmed by a biopsy before deciding the next action.
If precancerous cells are found, the lesion can be surgically removed if necessary during a separate procedure.
When spotted early enough, the possibilities of avoiding the cancer developing are high but only half of those diagnosed survive more than five years.
Thats why regular dental examinations are so essential for your overall health and not just to have good quality teeth.