The scary part about oral cancer is that approximately 57% of people diagnosed will be alive in 5 years! The biggest defense that we have against oral cancer is early detection. Oral cancer has traditionally occurred most frequently in patients over 40 years of age. However, that is changing and we are seeing younger people who are at risk as well.
Oral Cancer Causes
The Oral Cancer Foundation describes one of the key issues related to this type of cancer as follows:
“Historically the death rate associated with this cancer is particularly high not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development.”
There are two primary ways that people come to have oral cancer. One is through the use of tobacco and alcohol. The other is through exposure to a virus called human papilloma virus version 16 or HPV-16. This virus has been linked to a wide variety of skin issues as simple as warts to cervical cancer in women.
The video below provides a brief overview of HPV and how it can be passed from person to person and cause oral cancer.
Dental Oral Cancer Screening
We are proud to conduct oral cancer screening using the Identafi technology. This technology gives us an early way to detect problems. Learn more about the technology and how we use it by click on the image below.