Rutherford Dental Implants News: Oral Cancer Awareness, Part 2

By Author: Jack De Richards
Total Articles: 98
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Welcome to the second installment of this four-part article series. We are dedicating this series to spreading oral cancer awareness by speaking to Rutherford dental implants surgeons about the risk factors for and symptoms of oral cancer, as well as the best preventative measures to apply to one’s lifestyle. As it was explained in Part 1, early detection and treatment are the keys to surviving this terrible disease, which accounted for 42,000 newly diagnosed cases in America in 2013 according to the Oral Cancer Foundation.

The best way to ensure that more cases will be diagnosed early is to increase awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of this potentially fatal disease. So, without further ado, let’s do just that…

The Common Symptoms of Oral Cancer

If you have noticed one or more of the following, dentists in New Jersey urge you to seek immediate professional attention:

Abnormally colored patches in your mouth. These can be white, speckled or red in color and ...
... they can feel velvety or rough.

Any lumps, rough spots, swellings, ulcers, bumps or eroded areas on the gums, inner cheeks, palate or lips – or anywhere else in your mouth for that matter.

You’ve found blood in your mouth on a number of occasions and you’re not sure where it’s coming from.

You suffer with persistent sores or ulcers that don’t heal and go away within two weeks. They can also bleed easily.

You’ve experienced odd sensations, a total loss of feeling altogether (numbness) or even tenderness and pain in any area of the mouth, neck, face or even your ear.

You’ve lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

Your natural teeth or, if you’re a denture wearer, false teeth don’t fit together the way they used to.

You feel like you have something uncomfortable and/or painful caught in the back of your throat but it won’t go away and hasn’t for many weeks.

You’ve experienced difficulty swallowing, chewing, speaking or articulating your jaw and/or moving your tongue.

Ear ache

An anomalous lump in the neck

A throat that has been persistently sore for many weeks or months, hoarseness, slurred speech or a change in the sound of your voice.

“None of these symptoms on their own means that you have oral cancer, so don’t make yourself anxious over nothing,” says a Rutherford dental implants surgeon. “What’s important is that you take note of anything abnormal, especially if it’s persistent, and have it seen to by your dentist.”

“If your dentist dismisses your case initially and yet it persists, changes or even grows, then return for another appointment and insist that he or she performs a biopsy. Remember, early detection and treatment are crucial, potentially, to your very survival and if your current New Jersey dentist doesn’t take your concerns seriously, you might want to get a second opinion.”

Now the important question is what causes oral cancer… what habits, lifestyle choices or genetic traits can leave you at a greater risk of developing this terrible disease?

Stay Tuned for Part 3:

To read more about oral cancer and the risk factors for this life-threatening condition, stay tuned for the third installment of this four-part article series, courtesy of dentists in New Jersey.

Author Bio:

Jack De Richards works with renowned Dentists in New Jersey. He has the habit of writing online regarding oral health issues and in this article he continues to share insights on Oral Cancer Awareness.