FREE CONSULTATION 0113 245 4868 Ask us about 0% Finance
Book Online

Posts Tagged ‘Oral cancer screening City of Leeds’

The Importance of an Oral Cancer Screening

Thursday, August 4th, 2016

585804_blogWhen thinking about cancer, many forget about the dangers of oral cancer and even more forget that your dentist should be the first stop to diagnosis the disease.

About oral cancer

Oral cancer usually starts off in the mouth as a small spot or sore. These are commonly white or red and can be located in any part of the mouth. If untreated, these sores can affect any area of your mouth, including your gum tissues, tongue, palate, lips and lining of the cheeks. Oral cancer also occurs more regularly in people who smoke and if you combine this with consumption of alcohol, you greatly increase your risk of developing the disease. Signs of oral cancer may include:

  • Colour changes in your oral tissue
  • Difficulty with chewing, speaking, swallowing or moving your jaw and tongue
  • Sores in the mouth that easily bleed and do not heal
  • Lumps or thickening rough spots
  • Small eroded areas in the mouth
  • Pain, tenderness or numbness on the lips and inside of the mouth

Oral cancer screening

By visiting your dentist more regularly you can significantly decrease your chances of suffering with oral cancer, as screenings are part of your routine dental examination. It is therefore important that you have regular full mouth check-ups, so your dentist can detect the early stages of cancer and treat it.  Some spots or sores located in the mouth may not be cancer, but it is always best to check just in case and your dentist will perform a brush test to ensure the sore or spot is not dangerous. If anything is found to be wrong with the sore then it will be removed in a separate procedure, but it is important to know that positive results from the brush test will be confirmed first by incisional biopsy and histology.

Remember, it is important to visit your dentist for an oral cancer check-up, as on average only half of those diagnosed with oral cancer will survive past five years. However, oral cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer if found at an early stage.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in oral cancer | Comments Off on The Importance of an Oral Cancer Screening

Why We Screen for Oral Cancer

Friday, May 6th, 2016

1950426_sOral cancer symptoms may not present as painful or be visible to the naked eye. Delaying dental check-ups for long periods and not having oral cancer screening increases the number of people with oral cancer detected in advanced stages.

Why is screening so important?

It is very important to screen for oral cancer so that it may be identified and treated early before the disease impacts overall health or becomes life-threatening..

Symptoms of oral cancer

Patients may request oral cancer screening of they have concerns over any symptoms. Oral cancer may manifest on any part of the mouth, including the tongue and lips as:

  • sores
  • ulcers
  • a lump
  • discoloured skin
  • swollen neck lymph nodes

Signs include difficulties with swallowing, chewing and speaking.

Screening and diagnosis of oral cancer

During regular dental check-ups, dentists may ask patients if they experience such symptoms as part of the oral cancer screening process. Dentists conduct a physical examination of the mouth and where necessary may do a gum or tongue biopsy to see if any cancerous cells are present. Other diagnostic tests may include X-ray or CT scan.

Treating oral cancer

Once oral cancer is diagnosed, patients are provided with information specific to the type and stage of the cancer, and what treatments may be appropriate. The cancer may need to be surgically removed with or without radiation therapy. If you would like more information on oral cancer please contact City Dental in Leeds for more information.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in oral cancer | Comments Off on Why We Screen for Oral Cancer

How an Oral Cancer Screening Could Save Your Life

Wednesday, May 20th, 2015

658156_blogMany people dread going to the dentist, but how would you feel if a trip to the dentist saved your life? Oral cancer is a deadly disease and screening can literally make the difference between life and death. At City Dental Leeds we are eager to do our bit to raise awareness of oral cancer and we strongly recommend frequent check-ups and oral cancer screening tests.

About oral cancer screening

Oral cancer screening is not used to diagnose oral cancer, but it can be highly effective in flagging up potential warning signs that can then be examined in greater detail. Screening involves taking a close look at the soft tissue in the mouth and throat to check for possible signs of oral cancer. We use state of the art technology, including specially designed intra-oral cameras, to identify abnormalities in the soft tissue. Any abnormalities are highlighted and if your dentist suspects that there may be a potential risk of oral cancer they can then refer you for further tests.

About oral cancer

Oral cancer is not the most common form of cancer, but it is becoming much more prevalent in the UK and it affects more than 6,000 people every year. In the last decade alone, the number of cases has almost doubled, yet survival rates have stalled, as many people are unaware of the causes, risk factors and symptoms and this means that most cases are diagnosed at a late stage, when there is a high risk that cancer has spread.

The most common symptoms of oral cancer are slow-healing sores and mouth ulcers, abnormal lumps or swelling in the mouth and throat, difficulty swallowing and red or white patches in the mouth. If you have a mouth ulcer that lasts for longer than two weeks, we strongly recommend getting it checked out. It’s highly likely that there’s nothing to worry about, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Risk factors for oral cancer include drinking alcohol, smoking, a poor diet and exposure to certain viruses, including the HPV (human papilloma virus), which is also linked to cervical cancer.

If you would like to find out more about oral cancer or you would like to book a screening test, don’t hesitate to call us or pop in and see us if you’re nearby.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in oral cancer | Comments Off on How an Oral Cancer Screening Could Save Your Life

Screening for Oral Cancer This Easter

Tuesday, March 10th, 2015

4843159_blogThis Easter, you may be busily Easter egg hunts or days out, but spare a moment for your health. Oral cancer screening takes just a few minutes, but it could save your life. Don’t delay, call and book your appointment today.

About oral cancer

Oral cancer is an increasingly common form of cancer found in the soft tissue in the mouth and throat. Last year, more than 6,000 people were affected by oral cancer in the UK and the numbers are rising year on year. The main risk factors for oral cancer include drinking alcohol, smoking and HPV infection (human papilloma virus). If you smoke and drink heavily or frequently, you are more than 30 times more likely to develop oral cancer than a non-smoker who drinks infrequently.

Sometimes, oral cancer doesn’t cause obvious symptoms, but potential warning signs to look out for include red or white patches in the mouth, lumps or swelling and ulcers or sores that take a long time to heal (more than 2 weeks).

Why is screening important?

Screening is incredibly important because it can help to ensure that treatment is provided at an early stage, when the chances of survival are much higher. If cancerous cells spread and cancer becomes more aggressive, the chances of survival decrease. Sadly, at the moment most cases are diagnosed at a late stage and consequently, survival rates for this type of cancer have stalled. With screening, we can spot signs before they become visible to the human eye and this facilitates diagnosis and treatment at a very early stage.

Screening is nothing to panic or worry about. There’s no discomfort at all and we simply use a state of the art camera to look into the mouth and detect abnormal changes in the soft tissue. The test doesn’t take long and it may give you peace of mind.

                                                                                                          

Tags: , , ,
Posted in oral cancer | Comments Off on Screening for Oral Cancer This Easter

How Oral Cancer Screening can Mean the Difference Between Life and Death

Wednesday, February 25th, 2015

944335_blogIt may sound dramatic and far-fetched to say that a trip to the dentist could save your life, but with oral cancer screening, this really is the case. We are eager to encourage as many of our patients as possible to undergo screening in order to ensure that any potential signs or symptoms can be spotted at the earliest stage. Screening takes just a few minutes, but it can really make the difference between life and death.

About oral cancer

Oral cancer is found in the soft tissue inside the mouth and throat. Although it is relatively unknown compared to some other forms of cancer, it is actually becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK and it kills more people every year than cervical and testicular cancer combined. In the last ten years, the number of cases has almost doubled and experts predict that this is a trend that will continue in the future.

The main symptoms of oral cancer include:

  • slow-healing ulcers and mouth sores
  • abnormal swelling and lumps
  • difficulty swallowing
  • a persistent sort throat
  • red or white patches in the mouth

There have been major advances in cancer treatment in recent years, but in the case of oral cancer there has been little improvement in survival rates. This is largely due to the fact that many people are not diagnosed until an advanced stage where there is a high risk that cancerous cells have already spread.

Why is screening important?

Symptoms of oral cancer can be hard to spot and this is why screening is so important. With screening, we use the latest technology to spot early changes in the tissue, which may be early indicators of cancer. Once these changes have been identified, further tests can be arranged and a diagnosis can be confirmed or ruled out. Early diagnosis can have a radical impact on survival chances, increasing rates from less than 50 percent up to over 90 percent.

What happens when you have an oral cancer screening test?

Oral cancer screening is quick, painless and very simple. We use specially designed technology to look inside the mouth and identify abnormal changes in the tissue, which are highlighted using different shades of light. The test takes just a few minutes and you won’t feel any pain or discomfort at all.

Call us now to book your oral screening test.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in oral cancer | Comments Off on How Oral Cancer Screening can Mean the Difference Between Life and Death

What are the Symptoms and Treatments for Oral Cancer in the City of Leeds

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in the UK today and although oral cancer isn’t one of the most well-known types, it is one of the most easily recognised and diagnosed. Oral cancer normally occurs on the tongue or in the floor of the mouth, underneath the tongue. From here, the cancer is able to spread throughout the oral cavity, the lips and even begin metastasis (the process by which cancer spreads around the body) to the neck via the lymphatic system.

Oral cancer can be recognised by patches on the inside of your mouth or lips that are either white, red or a mixture of the both. Dentists are professionally trained to recognise the symptoms of skin cancer so it is essential you visit your local practice in the City of Leeds regularly to ensure an early diagnosis of any problems. Other symptoms that you should keep an eye out for are: sores that won’t heal, earache, bleeding in the mouth, lose teeth or a lump in your neck.

The people who are at the most risk from developing oral cancer are smokers, individuals who drink alcohol on a regular basis and who eat high levels of processed foods, these all contain carcinogens (cancer causing substances) that can trigger the formation of an oral tumour.

Treatment for oral cancer will only begin once a biopsy of your tumour has been taken and the stage at which it is at has been determined. If possible, the bulk of the tumour will be removed from the oral cavity, at which stage any addition therapies may begin. Therapies include radiotherapy, chemotherapy and anti-cancer drugs. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, these tumours will also be treated and hopefully the spread will be halted.

The most important message in the diagnosis of oral cancer is to keep regular appointments with your dentist, or to visit them if you are worried about any symptoms you may have. As with any cancer, early diagnosis is the most crucial step in curing the disease.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in dental check up, Digital x-rays, oral cancer | Comments Off on What are the Symptoms and Treatments for Oral Cancer in the City of Leeds

Our Team

Our Video

Our Transformations