Why You Shouldn't Delay Your Next Oral Cancer Screening

As cancer treatment advances, the mortality rate for a lot of different forms has come down. Many types of cancer have a five-year survival rate of 80% or higher. 

One cancer category’s survival rate has held relatively steady, though. Per the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), oral cancer has a five-year survival rate of 68%. 

We want to help change that. That’s why our team offers oral cancer screenings. 

Nisha Modi, DMD, and our team at Miracle Smile Dental offer preventive dentistry care, including cancer screening. We can examine your mouth and check for early signs of oral cancer.  If it’s been a while since you’ve had this type of cancer screening, don’t wait to visit us at our Aubrey, Texas, office.

Why early oral cancer detection is key

A study recently examined the reasons for the relatively poor outcomes for people diagnosed with oral cancer. It concluded, “Late diagnosis of oral cancer is probably the main reason why the prognosis of this disease — essentially referring to mortality — has not changed substantially in the last 50 years, despite advances in treatment.”

NIDCR data shows that five-year survival rates for oral cancer jump to 86.3% when the disease gets caught while it’s still localized. In other words, detecting this form of cancer as early as possible significantly increases your likelihood of a positive outcome. 

You can check yourself for oral cancer at home. Look in your mouth for white or red areas that don’t appear like your normal mouth tissue. 

Ideally, your dentist should also screen for oral cancer at your biannual oral exams. That doesn’t always happen, though.

At Miracle Smile Dental, Dr. Modi and our team commit to checking your mouth for signs of oral cancer each time you visit us. 

Preparing for your oral cancer screening

Some patients worry that adding this screening to their next appointment makes it longer or more painful. However, this kind of preventive care is quick and painless. 

You don’t need to do anything to prepare. 

Dr. Modi can generally complete your screening using just her eyes and hands. She visually checks your mouth for any abnormal tissue. She also uses her fingers to feel unusual growths along your jaw, neck, and face, called palpation. 

If she finds anything potentially problematic, she might use additional diagnostic tools like specialized dye — toluidine blue dye — that coats lesions, making them easier to identify. She might also have you use a specific mouthwash and shine a light in your mouth. The mouthwash makes abnormal tissue look white while healthy tissue looks dark. 

In other words, there are many painless, noninvasive ways to be screened for oral cancer. And because your odds of surviving it go up significantly if you catch it early, time is of the essence.

To schedule your oral cancer screening, call our team at 469-765-3567 or book an appointment using our convenient online scheduling tool.