What is oral cancer?
Oral cancer is a pretty serious disease. There are different types of cancer, but mostly it's squamous cell carcinoma, and it's pretty dangerous. By the time we find out about oral cancer, or if we find it in the mouth with some manifestation like a lesion or some kind of bumps and pain, unfortunately, it could be stage three or four. It could be pretty lethal. It is a pretty serious condition. We have to take it seriously.
What causes oral cancer?
The cause of oral cancer can be different. It used to be a disease of older men who drink and smoke. These days, it could be a disease for anybody. Right now, there's also HPV-caused cancer. There's all kinds of reasons for it that we're not going to go over in this video because a lot of it is available online, but the most important thing is that your oral care provider should look in your mouth and should look for anything that does not look normal and bring it to your attention.
What are the early signs of oral cancer?
The early signs of oral cancer may not be there. Oral cancer is very sneaky, and there could be nothing there. It could be a small bump, a small irritation spot. It could be a white spot. It could be raised. It could be flat. It could be a red spot. It could be anything. By the time patients usually have symptoms or something that they become aware of, again, it might not be an early sign.
As dentists, we should look in the oral cavity every time we see a patient, and we should look for things that don't look normal. That could be a sign of cancer. It could be a sign of irritation or any other disease, but we have to be able to recognize that this is not a typical area.
What are the symptoms of oral cancer?
The symptoms of oral cancer, that's kind of difficult to answer because there could be differences. Just from my experience, there may be no signs. Patients may feel an enlarged area. They may feel a little burning. They may feel nothing. They may see something in the mouth that doesn't look normal. They may assume they ate something hot and they burned themselves, and there could be any kind of signs.
Obviously, if you find something in your mouth that was not there prior, you should go to your dentist or your medical doctor immediately.
What do the early stages of oral cancer look like?
The early stages of oral cancer may not look like much. That might look like a little canker or a little pimple, or it could look like a little white spot, maybe perhaps from biting your tongue. Or it could look like a little bit of a scab, or it could bleed, or it could feel like burning. I mean, there are a million ways of feeling something.
Again, not all of them are oral cancer signs. It's just something that you should be paying attention to, especially if you know that you ate something or maybe bit on something that caused trauma. You should look into it and kind of pay attention. If that spot is gone within a week or so, that's good. If it's not gone, then you should go to your dentist.
What areas of the mouth are more dangerous for oral cancer?
A lot of areas in the mouth that we look at, there are certain areas that are more dangerous than others, and they would be the borders of the tongue, underneath the tongue, more toward the soft palate, and it could also be any other areas in the mouth that are kind of hidden. The way to do a proper oral cancer screening may not be something that everybody can withstand because it will involve palpation, or feeling inside, and kind of the base of the tongue, which most patients will probably not tolerate and which will probably result in vomiting.
When people are referred to a specialist to look into it, they do a more thorough exam. They push on the floor of the mouth. They look underneath.At Angelina Anisimova, DDS Family Dentistry, we look under the tongue, at the lower lip, at the palate, soft palate, hard palate, the inside of the gum tissue by the back molars. But yes, there are certain areas that are more susceptible to what we call bad sores, and we should definitely pay attention to those.
Can a lump on my gums be a sign of oral cancer?
Yes and no. It depends on the area. It depends on the history. It absolutely can be.
How is oral cancer diagnosed?
Oral cancer cannot be diagnosed during the dental visit itself. It has to be diagnosed by a biopsy. Usually, if the patient comes in and I see a spot that I don't like, I will refer the patient to the oral surgeon, who will take a small sample of that area, and then that would usually be sent to the lab. Then we will wait for the biopsy results, and only the biopsy can confirm it.
What does oral cancer screening involve?
Oral cancer screening can be a lot of different things, and it can involve a lot of gadgets, a lot of lights, a lot of mouth rinses, or it could be just a visual exam.
At Angelina Anisimova, DDS Family Dentistry, I usually do just a visual exam. I do not use any specific lights or mouth rinses and all that. I've tried that before. You have to charge the patient for it. I just don't think in my practice it's necessary. I feel like a visual exam, palpation, and illumination are enough. I have loupes with light, and if there's something that doesn't look good, I can probably refer the patient.
At least we need to bring it to a patient's attention, make sure that they call me back if that lesion is not out of there in a week or so. We do a follow-up exam. If the lesion is there because the patient ate something or they burned themselves, usually it will disappear. If it's something that is there and it's not going away and it looks suspicious, then we definitely make a referral, and the oral surgeon has a right to decide whether or not to do a biopsy.
What are the treatments for oral cancer?
I'm not going to be the one telling you about the treatments for oral cancer because I do not treat patients for oral cancer, but it depends on the stage of oral cancer. Obviously, there's surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Unfortunately, nothing is good, and the prognosis usually is not great.
Oral cancer is a pretty severe disease. When it's diagnosed, it's usually not in a very early stage unless people are super lucky. The treatments, unfortunately, have a lot of issues because people can be left without parts of their body. They can be missing bone. They can be missing soft tissue. I had a patient who had part of her tongue redone from another part of her body. It just really depends on where it is. But as far as the treatment, you will need to see your ENT or the oral surgeon to discuss that.
You’re never alone in caring for your dental health. At Angelina Anisimova, DDS Family Dentistry, our team is here to support and meet you where you are in your dental journey. Call (636) 434-1244 or email [email protected] to connect with us today.