April and Oral Cancer Awareness

April showers bring more than just May flowers; those showers bring a good reason to schedule your oral cancer exam.  April is Oral Cancer Awareness month and our East Stroudsburg dentist and staff would like to encourage our patients to get screened.  Oral cancer screening is a simple process that detects early warning signs.   We want you to be healthy and have the best resources at your disposal, so let’s take a look at what we look for when you visit our office for a quick oral screening.

Oral Cancer Warning Signs

• Sores that don’t heal within 2 weeks or less
• Gum and tissue discoloration
• Irregularities in the mouth
• Excessive bleeding in the mouth
• Raised tissues or lumps
• Bumps or lumps in the neck

Any one of these issues that persists may require a need for further action.  Oral cancer is often easily treatable when detected early.  However, the lack of patient education means that nearly one person dies each day from oral cancer complications.

Help reduce oral cancer statistics

According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, nearly 50,000 Americans will be diagnosed this year with oral cancer.  That breaks down to over 130 people every day.  Oral cancer is not so much as fast acting, the problem is that it often goes undetected for too long and reaches advanced stages before detection.  That is why it is important to visit East Stroudsburg dentist Dr. Smolyansky.  We screen for oral cancer at every regular dental check-up as part of our Preventative Dentistry service.  Our thorough exam takes only 5 minutes and ensures we catch any abnormalities.  This means, you don’t have to schedule an extra appointment, simply keep your 6 month check-ups on your calendar.  If between those regular appointments, you have concerns, call our office to discuss.

What causes oral cancer?

The leading causes of oral cancer include HPV, smoking, and alcohol.  Oral cancer can occur in a wide range of age groups.  In past decades, smoking and alcohol use were the leading factors in older patients.  More recently, younger, non-smokers who have HPV are becoming the bigger group of oral cancer patients.

We want to make sure our East Stroudsburg dentist patients get the best oral care in the state.  If it’s been awhile since your last visit, don’t let that stop you from seeing us.  We work to ensure that you are comfortable and provide dental exams and oral screening to any individual or family.  With proper oral education and regular checkups we can reduce the number of oral cancer diagnoses.  You can visit our Facebook page for more information on preventative dentistry or call our office if you have questions.