How Your Dentist Helps Spot Oral Cancer

Regular checkups with the dentist help in more than just your smile. The dentist in Scottsdale, usually also check for the signs of oral cancer. Therefore, it’s recommended for everyone to see the dentist at least twice a year to keep their oral health in good condition. However, the opinion of health professionals differs about the frequency of the oral cancer screening tests. Some say that if you are at higher risk of getting oral cancer, the screening should be done quite often.

Factors that increase the risk of developing oral cancer:

• Using tobacco including smoking, chewing, or using snuff
• Regular alcohol consumption
• Having oral cancer in the past
• Spending too much time in the sun
• Chewing betel quid

During the Screening Test

There are different levels of oral cancer screening and the dentist near 85258 is most likely to give you a basic exam, which includes a thorough look at all the parts of your mouth such as:

• Your lips
• Your gums
• The inside of your cheeks
• The roof of your mouth
• The back of your throat

If you wear dentures, you will have to take them out so that he can check the tissues beneath them. He may put his fingers in your mouth and under your tongue to examine. The examination should take less than 5 minutes. His aim is to look for goals, spots, and scrutinize if anything looks unusual about the spit that covers all the pink parts inside your mouth. If you yourself notice anything wrong, give a call to the dentist. The dentist near you may go little more in-depth for oral cancer screening and make you rinse your mouth with blue dye so that any unusual cells in mouth will absorb the dye and it’s easier to see them.

If There Are Signs of Cancer

If the dentist notices something unusual, you may need another appointment a few weeks later to see if anything has changed. He may also suggest going for a biopsy so that cells can be sent to a lab for testing.