Oral Cancer Screening at Wilmington Dental Studio

Oral Cancer Screening at Wilmington Dental Studio

Jun 01, 2020

Oral cancer screenings are done to look for signs of cancer or precancerous conditions in the mouth. A doctor or dentist can perform these screenings. These screenings are performed to detect early signs of mouth cancer that helps to cure it earlier.

Your savvy dentist at Wilmington oral cancer screenings will provide you with both physical and visual examination. Physically you will be checked around your lips, cheeks, jaw, and head for any abnormal growths or lumps. Visually check your gums, cheeks, tongue, and overall oral health will be examined.

If you live near Burlington, consider our oral cancer screening dentist Burlington. Schedule your appointment for oral cancer screening Burlington to avail of all kinds of dental services and detection for oral cancer.

Purpose of Oral Screenings

Oral screenings are done to detect cancer at an early stage. The lesions, if detected earlier, are the easiest to remove and can be cured. It is done mostly for patients who are at high risk of developing cancer.

People under high risk of developing cancer are:

  • People using cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and snuff
  • Heavy alcohol users
  • Those were diagnosed with cancer earlier
  • Excessive sun exposure can cause lip cancer

If any of these conditions are valid for you must visit a dentist or doctor to get yourself checked for oral cancer.

During your oral screening exam, the dentist in Wilmington MA will look inside your mouth for the red or white patches or mouth sores. The dentist will feel the tissues in the mouth with gloved hands to check for any abnormal growth or lumps. The throat and neck will be examined for any lumps.

Sometimes additional tests are done by the dentists like oral cancer screening dye in which you will be given a special blue dye to rinse your mouth before the exam. The abnormal cells in the mouth will appear blue after taking up the dye.

Another test is oral cancer screening light in which a light will be shined in the mouth. It makes healthy tissue appear dark, and the abnormal tissues will appear white.

After the oral screening test, the dentist will recommend visiting again after a few weeks to check if the abnormalities are still present, changed, or grown with time.

The dentist will perform a biopsy to remove the cells for laboratory testing or refer you to the other specialist for further diagnosis and treatment.

Oral Cancer Self-Screening: What Are the Benefits?

You must perform a monthly self-oral cancer screening to detect any abnormal changes earlier.

Oral pre-cancers and cancers look like white spots having sharply defined borders from the normal tissue. There can be red spots having sharply defined orders from the normal tissue, ulcers, or open sores that can be present. They don’t heal in two weeks or some abnormal bumps or lumps growing out of the tissue.

The highest risk areas where cancer develops the most are the sides and under the surface of the tongue, on the floor of the mouth, or the soft palate and back of the throat.

To prevent developing oral pre-cancer and cancer, stop consuming heavy alcohol, tobacco usage, smoking tobacco. All types of tobacco products and alcohol should be stopped altogether to save you from oral cancer. Also, go for oral cancer screening at least once a year.

How to Do Self-Oral Cancer Screening?

  • Before doing self-screening, wash your hands and use a small flashlight to see clearly inside the mouth.
  • Make sure to remove the dentures or any other appliances to give birth to a clear view of tissues into the mirror.
  • Start examining the external surface of your lips and then pull the lips to view inside the surfaces of the lips.
  • With the help of a flashlight, examine the inside of your cheeks and feel those areas with your fingers.
  • Check the floor of your tongue and try to feel with the help of your fingers.
  • Examine the top, bottom, and both sides of your tongue and feel these areas with your fingers.
  • Check your soft palate and the back of your throat.

If you notice any abnormal lumps, white or red spots, search the best dentist near me on Google for further diagnosis and treatment.

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