Page 17 - Boyne Dental E-Mag

Oral cancers usually involve the tongue, lips, floor of the mouth, soft palate, tonsils, salivary gland
or back of the throat. Advanced oral cancer causes chronic pain, loss of function, and irreparable
socially disfiguring impairment. The functional, cosmetics and psychological insults suffered by

oral cancer patients often results in society isolation. Oral cancer is particularly dangerous be-
cause in its early stages it may not be noticed by the patient and it can frequently develop without
producing pain or symptoms that are readily recognised. People who smoke, use smokeless to-
bacco and drink alcohol are at risk of developing oral cancers but it can also occur in people with
no risk factors at all, so screening is important for everyone.

What you need to know:

Early signs -

 Red and/or white discolouration of the soft tissues of the mouth

 Any sore that does not heal within 14 days
 Hoarseness which lasts for a prolonged period of time

Advanced signs -
 Sensation that something is stuck in your throat

 Numbness in the oral region
 Difficulty in moving the jaw or tongue

 Difficulty in swallowing

 Ear pain which occurs on one side only

 A sore under a denture which even adjustment of the denture, still does not heal

 A lump or thickening which develops in the mouth or on the neck