Oral Cancer: Knowledge and Early Detection is Your Best Defense

Nearly 35,000 Americans contract oral cancer each year. Some of the best ways to protect yourself from oral cancer is through, good oral hygiene, regular dental check-ups and learning the warning signs of cancer.

Detected early, the recovery and cure rate is very good.

It goes without saying that tobacco increases your risks for all kinds of cancer, but did you know that African Americans are a third more likely to contract oral cancer than a Caucasian? And that the gap between women oral cancer patients and males over the last half century has closed from a 6 to 1 ratio to 2 to 1? Or that the number of people with oral cancer under the age of 40 is 5 times higher than it was just a few years ago?

All of these questions point out that despite warnings on every front, oral cancer—a cancer that is predictable and curable—is on the increase.

Take these precautions to help prevent oral cancer:

• Practice good oral hygiene by brushing after meals, flossing daily, and seeing your dentist twice a year
• Conduct a self-exam watching for white or red spots on the tongue, mouth surfaces, and lips
• Have suspicious spots or sore places checked by your dentist
• Stop using tobacco products
• Limit alcohol intake
• Learn the risk factors and symptoms of oral cancer
• Don’t fall victim to thinking that if you’ve never used tobacco or alcohol you won’t get cancer—anyone can get cancer!

With just these few precautions, you greatly reduce your risk factors for contracting oral cancer.

Learn more about your risks here.