The best way to prevent oral cancer is to visit the dentist regularly for checkups that include oral cancer screenings. Early detection is the best key to recovery, so we encourage you to always attend dental appointments and keep track of any changes in your smile that could be warning signs of oral cancer.
If you frequently feel as though something is caught in your throat, this could be a symptom of oral cancer. Similarly, oral cancer can cause you to struggle with speaking, swallowing, chewing, and eating. Furthermore, we encourage you to schedule an oral cancer screening if changes in your tooth alignment cause your mouth to have trouble opening and closing easily.
Other oral cancer symptoms are abnormalities in your mouth such as unexplained lumps, crusts, bumps, rough patches, swelling, or eroded areas. You may also see white, red, and speckled patches on the tissues, or experience persistent bleeding and sores that do not heal for many weeks.
Not all symptoms of oral cancer occur in the mouth. For example, you could experience ear pain, a numb feeling around the mouth, face, and neck, and significant weight loss.
Dr. Bradley Austin and our team at Austin Dental Associates are committed to the proper treatment of oral cancer. To schedule an oral cancer screening in Maplewood, Minnesota, please contact our dentist at 651-777-0788 today.