Dental News - California Dental Association recommends oral cancer screening

Dental Tribune USA

Fri. 26 April 2013

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA: As part of Oral Cancer Awareness Month in April, the California Dental Association is recommending regular dental checkups for an oral cancer screening. Dental professionals can act as a first line of defense in the early detection of oral cancer. “Oral cancer often goes unnoticed until it has spread to another part of the body,” said CDA President Lindsey Robinson, DDS.

“Dentists can identify early signs of oral cancer,” Robinson said. “Regular dental checkups, which include an oral cancer screening, are essential in the detection of cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions.”

Oral cancer can present in a number of areas in the oral cavity, including the lips, gums, cheek lining, tongue and the hard or soft palate. Oral cancer often starts as a small white or red spot or sore somewhere in the mouth or on the lips and, when found early, the Oral Cancer Foundation says oral cancers can have an 80 to 90 percent survival rate.

According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 42,000 people in the U.S. will be newly diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year and most will be caused by tobacco use. Three out of four people with oral cancer have used tobacco, alcohol or both.

While tobacco and alcohol use are known risk factors for oral cancer, a lesser-known risk factor includes exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV) – the same virus responsible for the majority of cervical cancers in women.

(Source: California Dental Association)

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