Is Oral Cancer Screening a Necessity?
You visit the dentist near you for routine checkups and cleanings and learn from the dentist oral cancer screening as part of the regular checkup. You may express surprise or even become agitated with the dentist, telling them you don’t have any indications of oral cancer in your mouth. Perhaps your lack of knowledge of why dentists perform oral cancer screenings during regular dental visits made you agitated. However, if you try to learn the precise reasons why the dentist near you performed the screening, you will undoubtedly think differently about the process.
How does Oral Cancer Screening help?
The Houston dentist regularly performs oral cancer screening on all patients visiting them for routine checkups and cleanings. The screenings are not to scare you but merely to look for signs of precancerous lesions or cancer in your mouth. Oral cancer screenings aimed to identify mouth cancer early when the chances of better outcomes from treatments are higher.
You undergo oral cancer screening whenever you visit your dentist in Houston for a routine visit. To identify abnormal cells in your mouth, some dentists may use additional tests.
You may think you are healthy, without any risk factors, and why you need oral cancer screening. Genuinely no oral exam or cancer screening test has provided evidence that the risk of fatalities from oral cancer exists. However, you can decide with your dentist whether an oral exam or a particular test is necessary for you based on your risk factors.
Risk Factors of Oral Cancer
You may have a high risk of oral cancer and benefit from oral cancer screening if you use tobacco in any form, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, pipes, snuff, et cetera. Your risks increase if you have had an earlier oral cancer diagnosis or use alcohol excessively. Significant exposure to sunlight can increase your chances of lip cancer.
More people are currently being diagnosed with mouth and throat cancers, although the reasons for the same aren’t clear. The human papillomavirus is associated with the rising number of cancers detected. If you are concerned about your oral cancer risks, you can discuss the issue with the general dentist near you on how you can reduce your risk and which screening test might be appropriate for you.
Why Dentists Perform Oral Cancer Screening?
Dentists perform oral cancer screening to detect mouth cancer or precancerous lesions that may lead to mouth cancer early. Early detection of oral cancer helps remove the cancerous or precancerous lesions when the likelihood of a cure is high. You are not subjected to any stress during oral cancer screening and may not even realize the dentist performs the exam.
No studies have proven oral cancer screening can save lives. Therefore many organizations disagree about the benefits of an oral exam for oral cancer screening in Houston, TX. Some groups recommend it as a preventive measure, while others are adamant about its non-requirement.
Are There Any Risks of Oral Cancer Screenings?
Oral cancer screening doesn’t enable the dentist to detect all mouth cancers. Identifying signs of abnormal cells in your mouth merely by looking at them is challenging. The chances of tiny cancerous or precancerous tumors going undetected remain high.
Further examinations may be needed after oral cancer screening. If you have sores in your mouth and most of them are noncancerous oral cancer screening cannot determine the difference between cancerous and noncancerous sores. If your dentist detects an unusual sore, you must undergo further testing to determine its cause. The optimal way to decide whether or not you have cancerous sores is to remove some abnormal cells performing a biopsy, and testing them for cancer.
Oral cancer screening hasn’t proven it can save lives. Sufficient evidence isn’t available to prove routine oral exams looking for signs of oral cancer can reduce the fatalities caused by this condition. However, the screening is beneficial to detect cancers early when a cure is likely.
What Can You Expect during Oral Cancer Screening?
Your dentist looks over the inside of your mouth, checking for red and white patches or mouth sores when performing an oral cancer exam. The dentist uses gloved hands to feel the tissues in your mouth, checking for lumps or other abnormalities. Your throat and neck are also examined for lumps by the professional.
Oral cancer screening is a preventive procedure offered by dentists during routine dental exams. The screening doesn’t indicate you have oral cancer but merely checks to ensure you don’t have it and, if possible, never develop it.
Want to learn more about Oral Cancer Screening in Houston, TX? Call us now to schedule a consultation with our dentist near you and learn more about oral cancer screening. We also cater to patients residing in communities like Shadown Oaks, The Memorial Villages, Brighton Place, Spring Branch East, West Oaks, Hunters Creek Village, Briargrove Park, Campbell Road, Memorial, and surrounding areas.