Evesham Medical

Dentists at Evesham Dental Health Team Save Lives – mouth cancer detection

A very important reason for attending regular dental appointments is for your dentist to provide mouth cancer screening. Your dentist will examine the soft tissues of your mouth (the lips, tongue, inside the cheeks and throat) looking for anything unusual. He or she will also take your medical history and assess your individual mouth cancer risk and also offer advice whenever risks are high.

The main risk factors for mouth cancer include smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, low intake of fruit and vegetables, excessive exposure to the sun and the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) which is also known for its role in cervical cancer.

Signs and symptoms you should look out for:

In the early stages, mouth cancer is often painless, and the physical signs may not be obvious.

Early Indicators might include:

- Red and/or white discoloration of the soft tissues of the mouth
- Any soreness which does not heal within 14 days
- Hoarseness which lasts for a prolonged period of time

More advanced indicators are:

- A sensation that something is stuck in your throat
- Numbness in the oral region
- Difficulty in moving the jaw or tongue
- Difficulty in swallowing
- A sore under a denture, which even after denture adjustment, still does not heal
- A lump or thickening which develops in the mouth or on the neck.

Early detection

When found early, the mouth cancer 5-year survival rate is good, approximately 83%. However when found late (more likely if a patient has not attended a dentist regularly) unfortunately the mouth cancer 5-year survival rate is poor at approximately 32%.

Clearly finding oral cancer in its early stages is the key. To aid this Evesham Dental Health Team has recently invested in a special light screening technology called the VELscope VX from Canada. The VELscope’s blue light stimulates the natural fluorescence in the soft tissues allowing dental professionals to see disease sometimes not visible to the naked eye and discover disease at it’s most curable stage.

Contact Evesham Dental Health Team today to book your mouth cancer screening appointment.