Dr. Taira performs and oral cancer screening as an important part of your routine dental examinations.

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How common is oral cancer?

Oral cancer kills one adult every hour in the United States. Oral cancer has a higher death rate than many other cancers, including cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, and testicular cancer. 

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While it’s not entire possible to prevent oral cancer, there are things that you can do to minimize your risk.

• Refrain from use of tobacco or smokeless tobacco products

• Limit alcohol consumption

• Limit sun exposure

• Receive vaccination for HPV-16

• Have regular oral cancer screenings at your dentist office

Early stage detection and treatment yields a high success rate, and regular screenings can help ensure early detection. 

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Risk Factors for Oral Cancer include: 

• Tobacco use

• Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and tanning beds 

• GERD 

• Age: most people diagnosed with oral cancer are over the age of 40

• Being male: Oral cancer is twice as common in men as in women. 

For more information about oral cancer screenings or if you have experienced any of these symptoms for more than a week without improvement, contact us at 301-963-9690 and request an appointment.

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Signs of oral cancer

The most common places for oral cancer is the tongue, the tonsils and oropharynx, the gums, and the floor of the mouth. It can be silent but deadly, not always producing pain symptoms that would alert you of its presence. Dr. Taira will check for abnormalities during the oral cancer screening. Please let us know if you have experienced any of the following symptoms: 

• Painful or difficult speaking, swallowing, or moving your jaw or tongue

• Sensation that something is caught in the back of your throat

• Sore throat with no other sinus symptoms

• Lumps or swellings in or around your mouth

• White or red patches in your mouth

• Mouth sores that do not heal

• Unexplained ear pain

• Unexplained bleeding in your mouth

• Drastic/unintentional weight loss

• Unexplained fatigue

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For more information, please contact us here.