Importance of Oral Cancer Screenings for Your Oral Health
Visits to your dentist frequently to ensure your mouth is not affected by any issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and other problems like oral cancer are essential to ensure your overall health remains in prime shape. However, you might think you are not susceptible to oral cancer and wonder why you need screenings from the dental professional you visit.
Why is Oral Cancer Screening Essential?
Getting oral cancer screening is essential because the dentist can detect oral cancer early. Early detection of this devastating condition can enhance your chances of receiving successful treatments significantly. Dentists diagnose approximately 84 percent of all oral cancer to have them treated by medical professionals.
The dentist in Pflugerville doesn’t perform any scary procedures requiring you to receive anesthesia or endure pain. Instead, the dentist merely performs examinations during oral cancer screening, checking your face, neck, jaw, and mouth for lumps or other abnormalities. Besides the above, the professional also scans around your mouth, looking for signs of discoloration or sores. If the dentist detects or suspects any abnormality in your mouth, they send a sample of the area to a lab for testing.
The dentist near you is a professional you visit most often when caring for your dental health. Dentists receive training to identify signs of oral cancer during their years in college and perform the exams without informing you about them.
Oral cancer screenings are completed by our dentist in Pflugerville, TX, in under five minutes to make you wonder why the dentist was looking at areas of your mouth, head, and neck when they should concentrate on your teeth and gums. However, dentists are looking for signs of cancer as a preventive measure to ensure you do not develop the condition or have a treatment in hand early if any suspicious abnormalities are located in your mouth.
Oral Cancer Risks
Anyone can develop oral cancer, including older people, people indulging in tobacco use and smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, excessive sunlight exposure, people affected by HPV, and males who are at risk of developing oral cancer.
The risk factors mentioned are merely indicators of who might be prone to this condition. However, increases in patients with oral cancer with no risk factors have also been noticed. Therefore if you have a family history of cancer, you get yourself peace of mind by getting screened by a dentist nearby.
Oral cancer screening doesn’t cost you extra, and the dentist completes the exam during your routine appointment for checkups and cleanings. You will heave a sigh of relief when you hear from the dentist everything is fine with your mouth and return to your everyday activities without any concerns.
What If the Dentist Notices Abnormal Growths?
Dentists are oral health professionals and not oncologists specialists in diagnosing and treating cancer patients. If your dentist observes any abnormal lesions, they recommend that you return for a second visit to assess the progress of the growth.
If required, the dentist performs a biopsy for the laboratory to determine whether you are affected by cancer. If the results return positive, dentists begin providing you treatments before cancer progresses. They might also work with oncologists and other medical professionals to help you overcome the condition and preserve your overall health.
Oral cancer doesn’t just remain in your mouth when it affects you. On the contrary, it begins spreading to other parts of the body requiring treatments from different medical professionals at high costs if you are reluctant to undergo a simple screening that helps safeguard your overall health and financial condition.
Oral cancer screening doesn’t indicate you have cancer in your mouth or other areas of your oral cavity. Instead, the screening is a preventive method of identifying a devastating condition early when any treatment offered delivers optimal outcomes.
Consider these screenings similar to dental checkups for cavities or gum disease that need immediate restorations and ongoing treatment for life. Oral cancer also needs continuous therapy because the condition doesn’t vanish overnight but remains in your body by approximately 20 percent.
It indicates if you are affected by oral cancer, you must care for your mouth and overall health as recommended by your dentist and healthcare professional. Instead of relying on multiple medical professionals in different fields, why not receive oral cancer screening in Pflugerville, TX from The Grand Family Dental to maintain your health and financial status in prime condition? Call us or book your appointment now!