ORAL CANCER SCREENING IN PLEASANT HILL, CA
Oral cancer screening near you is a precautionary check of your oral cavity to detect any cancer or pre-cancer signs. At Grafton Dental, we often perform oral screening checks on any patient who requests for it, and on patients who are at high risk for oral cancer. Certain factors increase your susceptibility to oral cancer. High consumption of alcohol and heavy smoking, for instance, increase your chances of developing cancer. If you’ve had a previous cancer diagnosis, we recommend getting screened for oral cancer just to put your mind at ease.
What to Expect During Oral Cancer Screening
During your oral cancer screening at Grafton Dental, our dentist 94523 will examine you for oral cancer symptoms visually and physically. That is, our dentist in Pleasant Hill CA, will look at your oral cavity and spot any unusual signs such as ulcers, rashes, sores, or white patches. Having these doesn’t always mean that you have oral cancer. However, the presence of any of the above may necessitate further tests that could help spare you the agony of dealing with a progressed condition.
The parts of your mouth that we screen during the examination include your lips, gums, tongue, your mouth’s roof and the back of your throat, and surrounding tissues. If you wear dentures, we’ll ask you to remove them for the duration of the examination so that we can check the areas on which the dentures rest.
Depending on what we observe during the visual and physical examination, we may use a special blue dye that highlights the presence of atypical cells in the mouth. We may also use a fiber-optic camera that’s painlessly inserted into your throat to detect any abnormalities in your larynx and pharynx.
Why is Oral Cancer Screening Important?
Even though an oral cancer screening is not a diagnostic test, it can save you the agony of waiting until it’s too late. When detected early enough, many cancers are manageable. If we discover any signs of disease during your oral screening at Grafton Dental, we’ll recommend a biopsy. Based on the outcome of the biopsy, you can get started on cancer treatment in good time.
If you live in Pleasant Hill, CA, we recommend visiting Grafton DDS at least once a year for oral cancer screening in Pleasant Hill. You can avail of an oral cancer screening at our dental clinic even if you are located in surrounding locations of Walnut Creek, Concord, Martinez, Danville, Lafayette. Visit us today!