Oral cancer is an extremely dangerous form of cancer, and it often starts off painlessly. It can affect a lot of different areas of the mouth, including the floor of the mouth and the tongue. Other areas include the gums, the cheeks, the salivary glands, the roof of the mouth, and your throat. How common is it? Before you go looking for local dentists to diagnose you, let’s inspect the numbers.

How Common is It?

It’s a common type of cancer, and according to the WHO, there are about 380,000 diagnosed annually. That’s about 3%, which is statistically significant. It’s important to be regularly checked by local dentists.

What Are Some Facts?

Oral cancer, according to Healthline, is more prevalent in men than women. They are three times more likely to get it than females. Slightly more white people get it than African Americans. It’s something that happens in older people, with the average age being around 64.

What Should You Look Out For?

There are some symptoms to be aware of, though they can indicate other things besides oral cancer. They include a sore throat lasting for more than two weeks, the feeling like something is caught in your throat, a lump anywhere inside your mouth, a red or white patch in your mouth, numbness in your mouth, ear pain, and jaw pain that causes issues with dentures. If you have any of these, see a dentist immediately.

What Treatment Is Available?

Your dentist will look for any changes in your mouth each time you have a cleaning. They will also ask if you’ve noticed anything. If they see anything suspicious, they will have you see a specialist. Then treatment can include radiation, surgery, or even clinical trials to see if any new treatments will work.

What Are the Risk Factors?

Risk factors include excessive alcohol, smoking, HPV, age, or too much sun exposure. The most important thing is that it’s caught early. If that happens, then the chances of eliminating it are much higher. Talk to your dentist about any changes. Then, you can go back to living your life, though with much better habits. That will be worth it.

Are you looking for local dentists to do preventative care for things like oral cancer? We can do that for you, along with other services like teeth whitening. Contact Murfreesboro Family Dentistry today to make an appointment.