Some mouth parts like cheek, tongue and gum cancer symptoms include-
Dentists play a significant role in detecting mouth cancer starting stage being the first line of dense against the disease. They conduct a non-invasive and painless check-up of your overall oral cavity such as the mouth, throat, cheek, gums and around the neck. This is how they check for early-stage mouth cancer:-
The dentists conduct a thorough examination by looking around the neck and then examining the mouth. They specifically look for red or white patches, pus, sores or any kind of abnormalities inside the throat and mouth.
The dentists use lights or sometimes dyes to check for abnormal tissue inside the mouth, throat, gums and tongue.
The dentists sometimes take digital images of the infected part showing abnormality, which will help identify the precise location.
They feel your neck and cheek from the outside to feel for any bumps around, for any jaw, mouth, tongue or gum cancer symptoms.
In case your dentist finds anything unusual in these mouth cancer early stage symptoms during these examinations, they may recommend additional tests like a biopsy or consulting an Oncologist to test and confirm further.
The dentists check for the risks attached to the patient likely to suffer from mouth cancer, such as alcohol and tobacco exploitation and genetics.
Another primary role for dentists is to spread awareness of the potential risks caused due to the overconsumption of tobacco and alcohol and incline towards a healthier lifestyle devoid of these habits.
The dentist’s job is also to suggest the next step of action by referring to an oral surgeon, radiologist or an oncologist for examining the symptoms in detail through advanced medical techniques.
Post suggesting, dentists may coax the patient for regular visits to monitor the growth of these mouth cancer early-stage symptoms to see if there is regression or progression of the disease.
It would be alarming to know that only 83% of oral cancer patients have a high chance of surviving the next 5 years. While such is the case of severity, it is crucial to detect the cancer symptoms in the early stages to increase survival chances by a higher margin. For this, timely dental appointments are necessary, or rather mandatory to escape the clutches of this wildfire of a disease.
If you have detected your oral cancer with the help of a dentist, then you will have to take multi-disciplinary assistance involving dentists, radiologists, oral surgeons, oncologists and other specialists. They provide a comprehensive set of services and ensure you are tumor-free through rigorous therapies, radiation and administering powerful drugs.
Looking at these statistics above makes you wonder how careless one can be by avoiding mouth cancer early-stage symptoms. Hence, it is important to follow a healthy lifestyle and limit your alcohol and tobacco consumption to a judicious amount, to avoid oral cancer. Following a regular oral and full body checkup is a must to stay away from any kind of harsh surprises like oral cancer.
