Oral Cancer

February is Dental health month. I find myself thinking of the impact dentists can have on their patients lives. In my career I have found 3 lesions which were diagnosed as cancer. Fortunately they were all small and completely cured. Each of these cases were OUTSIDE of the mouth. Two were on the face one on the tip of an ear (one person was an extended family member). As dentists we share a very close and personal space with our patients, we may notice things others do not. In general we look for things that are Brown, Red, or White. We look for lumps or bumps and things that look like un-explained wounds. I read this morning on the Oral Cancer Foundation website http://oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/pdf/Us_Cancer_Facts.pdf that 1.47 million Americans developed cancer in 2009. Of those 71440 were oral cancer. That means about 10% of all cancers found in America are found in the mouth.

In my efforts to keep our patients healthy, I have purchased an oral cancer screening light.
I have attached a video of how it works but the summary is this: normal mucous membrane cells will fluoresce when certain wavelength light is shined on them. Abnormal cells will not reflect light, they will absorb it. This allows me to see a dark spot before a color change or other clinical sign of cancer appears. Having lost an aunt to breast cancer I have been too close to the fact that EARLIER IS BETTER.