Oral cancer
Over time your teeth can become worn or eroded. This means that the hard exterior enamel has worn away, leaving the sensitive insides exposed to damage and bacteria.
The good news is that, while very serious, oral cancers do tend to have a high survival rate when diagnosed early. The best thing you can do to fight oral cancer is to stay vigilant and know what’s going on in your own mouth.
What is oral cancer?
Oral cancer refers to any cancer that develops in your mouth. This includes cancer of the tongue, lips, gums, cheeks and so on.
An oral cancer is just like any other cancer in nature. It starts with cells that grow abnormally in size, then spreads to other parts of the body. You may first recognise an oral cancer as a small growth or growths in your mouth that don’t go away like an ulcer might.
Oral cancer is always a serious health risk and should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible to improve the quality of the outcome.
Symptoms of oral cancer
The most common early warning sign of an oral cancer is sores in and around the mouth that don’t heal or go away with time. This can look and feel a lot like an ulcer, but which won’t respond to common ulcer treatments.
Here are possible oral cancer symptoms to stay mindful of:
Sores in and around the mouth that don’t heal
Discomfort chewing or swallowing
Swelling of the jaw or throat
Numbness in your tongue
Pain in any part of your mouth
Discomfort with dentures or other oral apparatus.
Causes of oral cancer
Cancer is a disease that occurs when cells divide and grow uncontrollably, then spread into surrounding tissues. There is no single cause of cancer, rather scientists believe it is produced by a number of individual factors that combine together.
To help you understand what you can do to reduce your risk of oral cancer, pay attention to the risk factors below:
Smoking
Using other oral tobacco products (i.e. chewing tobacco)
Heavy consumption of alcohol
HPV and similar viral infections
UV sunlight exposure (particularly cancer of the lip)
Poor nutrition.
Treating oral cancer
How cancer is treated usually depends on its current ‘stage’. When found early, aka “Stage 0”, it can often be surgically removed with a low risk of recurrence.
Stages I and II oral cancer may be treated with surgery and/or radiation therapy. In some cases, a combination of radiation and chemotherapy (chemoradiation) may be used.
Stages III and IVA oral cancer, where the cancer has grown large and spread into nearby tissue, is usually treated with surgery, followed by radiation or chemoradiation.
Finally, stages IVB and IVC oral cancer, where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body, may be treated with chemoradiation or chemotherapy alone.
For more information about cancer treatments, visit the Cancer Society website.
When to see a dentist
If you are experiencing pain or symptoms in your mouth, especially any symptoms we mentioned earlier, consider seeing your dentist as soon as possible. They are the best person to examine your mouth and determine if the problem is an oral cancer, or something entirely unrelated.
Many of the symptoms of oral cancer can also be explained by other issues, so checking with your dentist first can save you a lot of stress and help you get the answers you need.
At Kowhai Dental, we also include oral cancer screening as part of a dental check-up, so we recommend booking a regular annual appointment to stay ahead and catch any problems as they arise.
You can call us on 09 430 0707 or book an appointment online.
What to expect during the consultation
During a dental checkup at Kowhai Dental, we’ll want to go through a few various tasks – especially if it’s your first time. That includes talking to you about what you’re experiencing, taking x-rays, looking for signs of oral cancer, and walking you through your treatment options.
To help us diagnose any problems you’re experiencing, it’ll help us a lot if you have a think about these questions in advance:
What symptoms have you noticed?
When did you first notice these symptoms?
Are you in pain, and if so how severe is the pain?
Do you have any mouth sores?
Where in your mouth are the sore, or which part of your mouth are you most concerned about?
Got questions
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Oral cancer can appear in a number of different forms – the mouth has so many different parts that could be affected, so cancer can appear in all sorts of ways. You might see patches of rough white or red tissue or a hard painless lump near the back teeth or cheek.
In general, oral cancer will present as a small growth or growths in your mouth. Try to be aware of these, especially if they are open, oozing or inflamed.
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Oral cancer can usually be cured if diagnosed and treated at an early stage. For the best odds of survival, cancer is best found while it’s still small and has not spread to other parts of the body.
If treatment occurs later on, it’s more likely that oral cancer may recur after it’s treated. That is, it may go into complete remission without being “cured”.
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Cancer can recur after treatment, especially if the treatment does not happen quickly and early. Oral cancer may reappear where you first had it, in the same general area, or in other parts of the body.
If you’ve recovered from oral cancer, it’s important to stay vigilant for any signs of recurrence and manage your risk factors to better prevent it.
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The most common sites for oral cancer are typically:
— Tongue
— Tonsils
— Oropharynx (back of the mouth or middle of the throat)
— Gums
— Floor of the mouth.
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The individual conditions covered by insurance can vary from policy to policy, so it’s important to check with your insurance provider if they cover cancer.
In most cases, medical bills for treatment and operations may be reimbursed with a medical insurance policy, provided cancer is not excluded as a ‘pre-existing condition’.
Other forms of insurance, such as life, disability, loss of income, and in some cases travel insurance, may also help to provide cover.
Visit the Cancer Society website for more information about cancer and insurance.