.webp){kind=logo}
Oral Cancer Screenings
Oral cancer is one of the fastest-growing cancers today. It is also a cancer that presents itself with very subtle and difficult to recognize symptoms. That’s why Dr. Mariya Dayanayeva and her team take regular oral cancer screenings so seriously. It’s also why we don’t just wait until your comprehensive exam to perform them. We do them at every visit! The Oral Cancer Foundation cautions that “…the number has increased again, and OCF estimates that 53,000 Americans will be newly diagnosed with oral or oropharyngeal cancer in 2019. About 9,750 individuals will die from this cancer in 2019, also an increase over last year.”
If you have any of the following symptoms listed on the Head and Neck Cancer Guide website, or it has been a while since your last dental exam or cleaning, please call to schedule an oral cancer exam right away:
- Painful sores in the mouth: Usually, an oral cavity cancer will start as a painful sore in the mouth. In some cases, a dentist or dental hygienist will see a sore in the mouth that the patient didn’t know was there.
- A patch in the mouth: A red patch (erythroplakia) in the mouth that lasts for more than a few weeks is more likely to be cancer than a white patch.
- Frequent bleeding in the mouth: This can happen when the cancer makes a hole in some part of the mouth (an ulcer) or if cancer cells are accidentally rubbed off while brushing teeth or eating certain foods.
- Bad breath: In rare cases, when cancer cells start to die, the dead cells can lead to a bad smell from the mouth called halitosis.
- Loose teeth or dentures that don’t fit correctly: This happens if the tumor gets into the tooth sockets or the bones where the teeth are rooted.
- Difficulty opening the mouth: This can happen if the cancer gets into any of the muscles that help to open and close the mouth. This is called trismus.
- Numbness (for example in the lower teeth or lower lip/chin area): This means the cancer cells have gotten into nerves that allow feeling.
- Pain or difficulty with swallowing: This can happen when tumors get large and either get in the way of eating or involve the muscles and nerves of swallowing. https://headandneckcancerguide.org/teens/cancer-basics/explore-cancer-types/oral-cancers/?gclid=CjwKCAjwk93rBRBLEiwAcMapUdU7a9g-okwugXfTAEEwwT8kHtvKHSskdJwFjFgZfE6Zw3PgHY0uyxoCC7YQAvD_BwE
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
.webp)
