What is the Importance of Oral Cancer Screening: Procedure & Benefits
What is Oral Cancer Screening?
Oral cancer screening is a comprehensive examination that can reveal signs and symptoms of early oral cancer. The screening includes an evaluation of your head and neck for abnormalities examining your tongue, gums, and cheeks with a visual check.
Oral cancer screenings aim to identify those people at risk of developing oral cancer, like squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or basal cell carcinoma (BCC).
Although it is mainly recommended for at-risk people, oral cancer screening is ideal for everyone. This is because you may develop oral cancer without having the risk factors.
An oral cancer screening uses x-rays, which produce images of your mouth, throat, and neck area. In addition to detecting early signs of oral cancer, you may receive other tests from your dentist or doctor as part of this process.
An oral cancer screening is essential to detect problems that may be causing pain in your mouth before it’s too late!
Oral Cancer Screening Procedure
Getting oral cancer screening near you is done in a few steps, and they include:
1) Evaluation of Your Head and Neck for Abnormalities
The screening includes an evaluation of your head and neck for abnormalities examining your tongue, gums, and cheeks with a visual check.
The oral cancer screening procedure is also called a visual examination or “visual inspection.” This process involves taking x-rays or photographs of your mouth to look for signs of oral cancer.
2) Feel Your Neck During the Oral Cancer Screening to Identify Abnormalities that cannot be seen with the Naked Eye
The dentist will also feel your neck during the oral cancer screening to identify abnormalities that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Feelings may be subtle and easily missed, so a thorough examination must detect abnormalities.
3) The Mouth is also Probed to Feel for Lumps or Irregularities
Our dentist in Kingwood, TX, 77339, will take several pictures of the inside of your mouth with an intra-oral camera.
The intra-oral camera is small device dentists use to examine your mouth.
When you visit the dentist for an oral cancer screening, they will probe your mouth with an endoscope instrument. This probe is connected to a computer that takes pictures from different angles so that they can be compared later on. The images help determine whether there might be any abnormalities in size or shape in any part of your salivary glands—they’re vital because these glands produce saliva, which helps keep teeth clean!
4) Use an Electronic Tongue Surface Brush to Collect Cells that are Checked under a Microscope
In addition to a visual check, an oral cancer screening may also use an electronic tongue surface brush to collect cells that are then checked under a microscope.
An oral cancer screening can also reveal other conditions, such as diabetes or slow-healing sores. Oral cancer screenings are typically done by dentists but can also be performed by doctors in some cases.
Oral cavity examinations for pre-cancerous lesions or early-stage cancers are recommended for people with a history of head and neck cancer or who smoke tobacco products (cigarettes).
What are the Benefits Of Getting Oral Cancer Screening?
The benefits of getting Oral Cancer Screening include the following:
Screening for oral cancer is vital because it can be caught early and treated successfully.
The benefits of oral cancer screening include the following:
- Oral cancer screenings can also help identify other abnormalities in the mouth, such as pre-cancerous lesions or gum disease.
- Reduced risk of death from oral cancer
- Improved quality of life.
- Prevention of spread to other organs in the body (metastasis)
Get Oral Cancer Screening Near You
Getting an oral cancer Screening is a great way to prevent oral cancer. The mouth is the gateway to many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. By having this done regularly, you can catch any problems before they become severe or deadly. Call us or book a consultation with us at Houston Oral Healthcare Specialists to get oral cancer screening in Kingwood, TX!