5 Critical Oral Cancer Facts

oral cancer dental checkup Jefferson City

Dental Checkups Are Not Just About Cavities

At Jefferson City Dental Care we urge people to come in twice a year for a dental examination and cleaning.  If you abstain from twice-yearly dental checkups because you don’t believe you have any tooth decay, perhaps getting an oral cancer screening is a more persuasive reason to see your dentist regularly. (While your dentist is checking for oral cancer, we urge you to have a thorough dental examination as well!)

In the last few decades, lung and breast cancer have garnered a lot of public attention. There is relatively less awareness of oral cancer even though it claims almost 10,000 lives every year in the United States. If you smoke or have contracted HPV, you have a higher risk for developing oral cancer.

At Jefferson City Dental Care, we work to raise awareness of oral cancer and the significance of early diagnosis. Courtesy of the CDC, Oral Cancer Foundation, and Johns Hopkins Medicine, here are 5 vital things to know about oral (mouth) and oropharyngeal (back of mouth and throat) cancers.

1. About 80% of men and women with oral cancer use some variety of tobacco (cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipes).

2. 40% of individuals who receive late-stage diagnosis of oral cancer die within five years. The survival rate for early stage diagnosis is 90%.

3. In many cases, it is almost impossible for the individual to detect oral and oropharyngeal cancers because they can produce unobtrusive symptoms or no symptoms at all. Any abnormality in the mouth or throat, even if small and painless, should be analyzed by a dentist or doctor.

4. HPV (the most common sexually transmitted disease in the US) is the most common cause of oropharyngeal cancer. Of the copious strains of HPV, HPV16 is the one most often linked to oropharyngeal cancer.

5. Black males have a higher risk of dying from oral cancer than whites.

Sources:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/oral_health/oral_cancer_and_tobacco_85,P00900/
https://oralcancerfoundation.org/understanding/hpv/hpv-oral-cancer-facts/
https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/conditions/index.html

Contact Jefferson City Dental Care:

573-634-2400

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

3551 Amazonas Dr
Jefferson City, Missouri
65109

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