Factors that may cause oral cancer

Approximately 35,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer each year—according to the National Institutes of Health. The disease will strike two men for every woman. Research has identified a number of factors that may lead to oral cancer. Lifestyle choices including the use of tobacco and alcohol are the biggest cause of oral cancer. [...]

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Heads Up!

April is National Facial Protection Month, so it is a great time to talk about how you and your kids can be pro-active in the prevention of injuries to the face, mouth and head. For those of us working in dental and medical offices this offers us a forum to provide some specific education regarding [...]

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The 2011 Oral Cancer Awareness Week is April 11‐15

As an oral and maxillofacial surgery office, this topic is always top of mind for us. During this week we will focus special attention on educating folks about the risk factors and symptoms of oral, head and neck cancer and the importance of early detection. It is critical that oral cancers receive the national media attention necessary to raise public awareness. The Oral Cancer Foundation points out that the high death rate traditionally associated with oral cancer is not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but because the cancer has historically been discovered late in its development. In it’s early stages, oral cancer may  and often does ‐ go unnoticed because there are no blatant symptoms or pain.  This only underscores the importance of establishing a regimen to include regular self‐examinations and examination by a dentist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon at least annually. The mouth is one of the easiest parts of your body to examine yourself. Also, changes in the mouth can be easily seen, so oral cancer can be detected in its early stages. The key to early detection is performing a self‐examination regularly. Examining your mouth each month will help you identify changes or new growths early. And, early detection is important in increasing the chance of a cure. In our post next Monday we [...]

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