April 2019: Oral Cancer Awareness Month

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. Dentists are often the first medical professionals to detect and diagnose oral cancer. That’s why besides your bi-annual checkups, you should schedule an appointment anytime you experience abnormal oral symptoms. Drs. Navid Rahimpour DDS and Faranak Rahimpour DDS offer oral cancer screenings at Southern Cross Dental.

 

When you have strange symptoms in your mouth, especially if they don’t heal or they last over two weeks, you need to schedule an appointment ASAP. This is a serious indicator of an urgent medical problem. Make sure to take note of any of these symptoms:

 

Mouth sores or ulcers that refuse to heal or take longer than two weeks to heal, a strange discoloration of the gums, lumps or hard spots in the mouth, spots that bleed easily, and/or a lump on the outside of your neck that has been present for at least two weeks.

 

The symptoms for HPV-caused oropharyngeal cancer differ from other oral cancer symptoms. With this type of cancer, you might experience a hoarse or sore throat, a constant cough, problems swallowing, pain in one or both ears, and a lump on the neck.

 

The major risk factors of oral cancer are heavy tobacco and alcohol use. Other tobacco products, like chewing tobacco, are just as dangerous to your health. Another large risk is contracting the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus 16.

 

Do not wait to make an appointment when experiencing these symptoms. Your health is not worth the risk. Prevention and early detection are the best tools for fighting cancer.

 

Southern Cross Dental is located in Colorado Springs, CO. To schedule an appointment with Drs. Navid Rahimpour DDS or Faranak Rahimpour DDS, visit our website or call 719-471-1717.

 

Oral Cancer

Southern Cross Dental takes a lot of pride in serving the families from our community.  We want your smiles to look great, but we also screen for oral cancer and it is important that you and your family are aware of oral cancer and how to prevent it.  Oral cancer screening may not be the most common reason you’ve visited a dentist, but regular screenings are the best way to protect yourself.

Heavy smoking and drinking do increase the risk of oral cancer, but oral cancer can still occur if someone never smokes.  The human papilloma virus (HPV) was recently found to be responsible for most oral cancers that originated in the back of the mouth.  Because there is no way to predict cancer, you should ask about an oral cancer screening with each dental checkup.  Your dentist will conduct a visual exam to see any irregularities inside the mouth. Always contact us if you notice any inexplicable pain, swelling, or numbness in your throat or jaw.

To learn more about oral cancer screening and all the services we provide at our practice, visit www.scdsmile.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Southern Cross Dental in Colorado Springs, CO, call 719-471-1717.

Oral Cancer and Alcohol

As part of our preventive services, we at Southern Cross Dental in Colorado Springs provide our patients with information on the causes of oral cancer and screen them for early warning signs. Recently the American Society of Clinical Oncology released a study on the connection between oral cancer and alcohol which we wanted our patients to be aware of.

Past studies have established that alcohol and tobacco together raise the risk of oral cancer, but this study examined alcohol as a causative agent in its own right. It found that 5% of new cancer diagnoses, including oral cancer, can be attributed to alcohol. The researchers said they were unsure of why alcohol would lead to oral cancer, but it could be that alcohol causes damage to soft tissues in the mouth. Each time the tissues repair, there is an opportunity for DNA to be miscopied.

The research found that the risk factor did not vary depending on what kind of alcohol was consumed, and although it was greater for heavy drinkers, it was still significant for light and moderate drinkers. It also found that, although the risks for every kind of cancer did not decrease with the cessation of alcohol use, the risk of cancers of the mouth and throat did decline.

Drs. Navid and Faranak Rahimpour operate Southern Cross Dental at 1855 S Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80905-2516. To schedule an appointment, call 719-471-1717 or visit Southern Cross Family Dentistry and fill out a contact sheet.

 

What is Oral Cancer?

Oral cancer is a malignant growth that affects any part of the oral cavity, including the lips, upper or lower jaw, tongue, gums, cheeks, and throat. Anyone can get oral cancer, but the risk is higher if you are male, over age 40, use tobacco or alcohol or have a history of head or neck cancer. Understanding the causative factors of cancer will contribute to the prevention of the disease. Your health is important to us and you should schedule regular dental checkups with our doctors at Southern Cross Dental to detect oral cancer early when it is the easiest to treat.

The most common symptom of oral cancer is a sore in the mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal. Another common sign of oral cancer is developing pain in the mouth that does not go away. Our doctors at Southern Cross Dental can examine the mouth and throat as part of a routine checkup if you are concerned about developing oral cancer. During regular checkups, abnormal tissue changes and oral cancer can be detected at its earliest stage when there is a greater chance for a cure.

If you have questions about oral cancer, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.southerncrossfamilydentistry.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Southern Cross Dental in Colorado Springs, CO, call 719-471-1717.