There are many great reasons to go and see your dentist on a regular basis. They will be monitoring your teeth and gums for any signs of problems which need treatment. This is what they spend years training for and building up a wealth of pertinent experience. In recent times dentists have been trained to look for something else in the mouth which used to be the preserve of general practitioners.
Oral cancer can manifest itself in hardened, rusty coloured patches in the mouth and your dentist will be keeping vigilant for them during your six months check-ups. If you are an adult male who smokes and drinks then you are in the high risk groups but this doesn’t mean that others can be complacent as a quarter of all cases of oral cancer patients are not from any of these groups.
Once your dentist has spotted a warning sign he or she will know the procedure of referring you to specialist as soon as possible so that you can be more thoroughly examined by an oncologist. It might be that chemotherapy or radiotherapy is required. Oral cancer actually has very high survival rates compared to other cancers but it needs to be spotted early before it gets out of hand and begins to spread.
Make sure that you go and visit your City of Leeds every six months so that they can keep an eye out for signs of this potentially fatal condition in the mouth. It is always better to report something if you are worried about it too. Your dentist won’t think that you are just making a fuss; they will take your concerns seriously.
Tags: oral cancer
