In an effort to curb the continual rise of oral cancer diagnoses that are handed down annually, the month of April has been designated as Oral Cancer Awareness Month. Oral cancer is commonly referred to as throat cancer, mouth cancer, tongue cancer, and head and neck cancer.
2018 marks the 19th edition of Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and we are reminded that routine oral cancer examinations by oral health professionals remains the best method to detect oral cancer in its earliest stages. Early detection by oral health professionals makes the dental community the first line of defense in the fight against oral cancer.
Early detection is extremely important because most patients don’t notice oral cancer symptoms until the disease is quite advanced. Some early symptoms may include noticing a sore that won’t seem to heal, or symptoms may feature pain/tenderness or even visible red or white patches in or around the mouth and throat.
Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer, with nearly 50,000 Americans expected to be diagnosed with the disease this year alone. Additionally statistics show that one person dies from oral cancer every hour of every day.
Call your dentist today to schedule your oral cancer examination — there is no better time than here in April, during Oral Cancer Awareness Month.
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