Oral Cancer Screenings in Boca Raton, FL

Dentists are not only teeth experts but also receive training in diseases involving the mouth, head, and neck. When you get a routine examination from our dentist in Boca Raton, FL, they will also visually examine your mouth and probe it with their fingers, looking for sores, lumps, and firm areas. They are doing oral cancer screenings to ensure you do not have the disease.

Diagnosing Oral Cancer

Mouth cancer can be a deadly disease if not caught in the early stages. With the screenings that Dr. James Helmy at iSmile Dental does, this type of cancer has a 90 percent cure rate when discovered during the first stage. However, as it progresses, the patient survival rates drop by almost half to 45.5 percent in stage IV. By looking for and finding it early, most patients will survive their bouts with the disease.

During a biannual examination of your teeth, Dr. James Helmy will look for signs of oral cancer that include:

• Red or white lesions or patches in your mouth
• Lip or mouth sores that don’t heal
• A lump or hard tissue in the mouth
• Difficulty swallowing
• Mouth or ear pain
• Loose teeth

If our oral cancer dentist near you finds a lump while examining your mouth, our staff can perform a biopsy in the office. It’s vital to diagnose the lump so that you can start treatments right away if it’s cancerous. Oral cancer screenings in Boca Raton, FL, are essential for saving lives, which is why we do one at every routine examination.

Causes of Oral Cancer

Experts consider mouth cancers as lifestyle cancers because bad habits can cause them. Both men and women can get oral cancer, but men are more susceptible to it. Some of the causes of these cancers include:

• Using tobacco products
• Heavy drinking
• Genetics
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Chewing betel quid, the leaves of a plant

Although the average age for diagnosing oral cancer is 62, about one-fourth of cases diagnosed are in patients aged 55 or younger.

Along with maintaining excellent dental health, it’s critical to visit our dentist in Boca Raton at iSmile Dental every six months to get oral cancer screenings near you. Finding the disease in its early stages can save your life and allow you to enjoy many more years with your friends and family.