Without your health, you having nothing.

At Whole Dental Wellness, we believe a healthy you starts with a healthy mouth. We strive to provide you with the best oral cancer screening Birmingham and Roseville have to offer, that's why we are happy to offer this free service to all of our patients.

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Signs of Oral Cancer

If you have noticed any of these signs or symptoms, be sure to alert us right away. Sometimes these changes are painful, but the majority of the time lesions appear without a sign or warning.

If present, these changes can be detected in the gum tissue, roof of the mouth, cheeks, lips, face, tongue, and/or neck. In a healthy mouth, the inner lining will be covered with mucosa, a special type of skin that is smooth, pink, and stretchy. When changes to the appearance of the mucosa are noted, this could be a warning sign that something is going on. The most serious concern is oral cancer. Periodic oral cancer screenings are essential for detecting a problem at its early stages. At Whole Dental Wellness in Roseville oral cancer screening will be performed during your routine dental visit.

The following signs may indicate a cancerous growth or other pathological process:

• White or red patches in the mouth
• A thickening or lump in the skin that lines the inside of your mouth
• Chronic hoarseness or sore throat
• Difficulty swallowing or chewing

Factors that can increase your risk of oral cancer

• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Significant sun exposure (can increase your risk of lip and skin cancer)
• Tobacco use
• Previous diagnosis of oral cancer

Oral Cancer Screenings

If you wear dentures that can be removed, we will ask you to take them out to better inspect the tissue located underneath them.

In addition to looking for changes in the color of the inside of your mouth, we will also feel the tissues of the mouth to check for abnormalities or lumps. If we notice anything suspicious, we may either elect to watch the lesion, documenting and photographing it to allow us a quantitative way to re-evaluate it again at an appropriate time interval. Or we may elect to biopsy part or all of the lesion and send it out for a pathology report to get an accurate diagnosis. Rest assured, should a suspicious lesion be detected, our team members will explain the process to you and ensure we are getting you the best and most timely diagnosis and care.

In addition to our professional screenings, we recommend that you perform monthly oral cancer self-exams to look for changes in the color and appearance of the inside of your mouth. Remember, the mouth is one of the most important warning systems of the body, so you should always be on the lookout for signs of changes. Never ignore a suspicious sore or lump. If you’ve noticed a change that is worrisome, call us right away. We will set up a consultation to find out exactly what’s going on in your mouth.

Oral Cancer Facts

• Oral cancer includes cancers of the lip, tongue, pharynx, and mouth.
• The survival rate for oral cancer has remained unchanged for decades with an overall 5-year survival rate of 52%.
• Oral cancer kills one person every day in North America and rates continue to rise.
• With early detection the survival rate increased to 80-90%, yet only 35% of oral cancer cases are diagnosed in the early stages due to limited advances in screening techniques.

Prevention is the cure.

Oral cancer causes are not limited to tobacco and heavy drinking, but also by exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV). This extra level of detection is done at no charge to you.

This is because we are committed to helping you optimize your whole body health. That is our whole dental promise. For years we have utilized VELscope (Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope) technology to help us detect any precancerous and early-stage cancerous tissue. Using our wireless, handheld VELscope, we shine fluorescent light into your mouth, looking for suspicious sores, aiding us to painlessly distinguish normal and abnormal tissue. Some of these suspect lesions may not be present to the naked eye. If we have any concerns, we may elect to biopsy the suspect tissue and send it out for a pathology report. This extra level of detection is done at no charge to you. Because our Birmingham and Roseville dentists are committed to helping you optimize your whole body health. That is our Whole Dental promise.