First I’d like to thank all that participated in our complimentary Oral Cancer Screening Event here at the office on Thursday, April 19. We all count it as a tremendous success for two important reasons: the light it shed on the serious nature of the disease and the simple steps we can all take to detect it early and ultimately cure it.

It’s a fact that one American dies every hour from oral cancer. But the good news is that oral cancer is one of the most curable diseases when it is detected in its earliest stage. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to have a semi-annual oral exam from a professional dentist.

Despite the overall reduction in the total incidences of cancer and cancer-related deaths, one American dies every hour from oral cancer. The American Cancer Society reported a 5.5% increase in new cases of oral cancer and a 1.5% increase in deaths associated with oral cancer.

The good news is that oral cancer is one of the most curable diseases when it is detected in its earliest stage. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to have a semi-annual oral exam from a professional dentist.

We utilize the latest technologies in addition to visual/manual screening methods. Through the use of a specially designed light, we can more accurately detect precancerous and cancerous abnormalities. When pre-malignancies or early-stage oral cancer is found, treatment is simpler, less invasive and more than 90% successful. However, if oral cancer goes undetected and is not diagnosed until later stages, then disfiguring effects of the face and other invasive treatment is necessary.

You may be asking yourself what are the risk factors and what you can do to prevent contracting the disease. Well, alarmingly more than 25% of oral cancers occur in people who don’t smoke and have no other lifestyle risk factors such as chronic alcohol use or HIV/HPV. Of course those who do use tobacco products or consume at least 2 ounces of alcohol three times per week are at the highest risk of getting this disease.

Like all forms of cancer, we can certainly list risk factors, but there are still the unexplained causes that exist. So remember, that’s why we stress the importance of this lifesaving screening.

If you or someone you know has been neglecting a visit to the dentist for whatever reason, take the time to give us a call and schedule a comprehensive exam. Nothing beats peace of mind…and it’ll be our pleasure to give that to you.

Tags: Cary North Carolina, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dr. Ashley Mann, Dr. Ralph Dolfi, family dentistry, Oral Cancer Screening

This entry was posted on Friday, April 27th, 2012 at 1:16 am and is filed under C. Ashley Mann DDS Dental Practice, Community Events, Dr. Ashley Mann's Practice, Oral Cancer Screening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.