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While you may think Dr. Egger’s practice is all fun and games — showing pesky tartar who’s boss and playing around with dental lasers can be enjoyable, especially when we see how much our patients’ teeth benefit — but there is a serious side to our business. Oral cancer.

Yes, Dr. Egger and our hygienists are always on the lookout for signs of oral cancer. That’s why we pull on your tongue, poke your glands under your jawline, and perform other diagnostic tests. It’s not because we simply like to look under your tongue, it’s one of the prime areas to check for oral cancer.

There are various symptoms of oral cancer, but our visual examination is critical to early detection. Here’s some information about this serious dental condition.

What is oral cancer?

Oral cancer is described as cancer whose beginnings are in the oral cavity. This can include the lips, the inside lining of the lips and cheeks, the teeth, gums, most of the tongue, the bottom of the mouth, and the hard palate.

Symptoms of oral cancer

These are some of the most common oral cancer signs or symptoms:

• Persistent mouth pain, in contrast to tooth pain
• A sore in the mouth that doesn’t heel is the most common symptom of oral cancer
• Difficulty swallowing or chewing
• A lump or thickening in the cheek
• A white or red patch on the gums, tongue, tonsils, or lining of the mouth
• A sore throat or feeling that something is caught in the throat
• Difficulty moving the jaw or tongue
• Jaw pain
• Numbness of the tongue or other areas inside the mouth
• Jaw swelling
• Loosening teeth
• Persistent bad breath

When you’re at our offices for a regular cleaning and exam, we check for oral cancer. If we find any suspicious lesions (lumps, bumps, or sores) in our exam, we usually opt to remove the growth and send it off to the lab for evaluation. Most of these growths prove to be benign, but if they are cancerous they key to treatment success is catching them early. That’s one of the reasons we ask our patients to be diligent about making their twice-yearly exams with us.

If you have any of the symptoms listed above, you need to see Dr. Egger immediately. Call us at 989-773-3560 to make your appointment.

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