Keeping an Eye Out for Oral Cancer

During your twice-yearly exams with us at Dr. Egger’s, we want you to leave our Bellows Street offices with sparkling teeth. But we have goals beyond that. Sure, removing tartar and plaque and polishing your teeth are important. But even more important is our examination for the signs of oral cancer. That’s why Dr. Egger will pull on your tongue, push on your glands under your jawline, and perform other brief diagnostic exercises. He’s not just messin’ with you; there are various symptoms of oral cancer, and our visual examination is critical to early detection.

What is oral cancer?

Oral cancer is described as cancer that begins 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. If you don’t smoke you may think oral cancer isn’t a possibility, but it can still develop. At our Mt. Pleasant offices, we’re seeing more and more oral cancer because of the human papilloma virus (HPV).

What are the symptoms of oral cancer?

When you’re at home, we recommend that you be on the lookout for any signs of oral cancer. These are some of the most common 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
• A sore throat or feeling that something is caught in the throat
• A lump or thickening in the cheek
• A white or red patch on the gums, tongue, tonsils, or lining of the mouth
• Difficulty swallowing or chewing
• Difficulty moving the jaw or tongue
• Numbness of the tongue or other areas inside the mouth
• Jaw swelling
• Loosening teeth
• Jaw pain
• Persistent bad breath

When you’re in for your exam and cleaning, if we find any suspicious lesions (lumps, bumps, or sores) during your exam, in most cases, we will 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 the key to treatment success is catching them early. That’s one of the reasons we ask our patients to be diligent about keeping their twice-yearly exams with us.

Has the time lapsed for your twice-yearly cleaning and exam with Dr. Egger and our team? Call us at (989) 773-3560 to schedule your appointment.