According to the Mayo Clinic:
“Mouth cancer occurs when cells on your lips or in your mouth develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. These mutations allow cancer cells to grow and divide when healthy cells would die. The accumulating mouth cancer cells can form a tumor. With time they may spread to other areas of the mouth and on to other areas of the head and neck or other parts of the body.
Mouth cancers most commonly begin in the flat, thin cells (squamous cells) that line your lips and the inside of your mouth.”
While mouth cancer refers to the general types of cancer that can occur in the mouth, there are more specific terms for each type of cancer in the mouth. These types include:
- Gum cancer
- Lip cancer
- Hard palate (roof of mouth) cancer
- Salivary gland cancer
- Tongue cancer
- Floor of mouth cancer
- Cancer that grows in the inside portion of cheek
Some factors that could increase your risk of mouth cancer include heavy alcohol use, using tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco), excessive sun exposure to your lips and HPV (human papillomavirus).
If you have symptoms that may be a sign of mouth cancer, you should see your dentist or doctor immediately. Signs and symptoms of mouth cancer include sores that don’t heal, lumps in the mouth, loose teeth, jaw pain, sore throat, painful chewing and painful swallowing or any white or red patches on the inside of your mouth.
Make an appointment with you doctor or dentist if you believe you have a medium to high risk factor and also experience the above mentioned signs or symptoms. Doctors and dentists will be able to rule out other possibilities (such as infection) before moving on to more tests for cancer.
Have more questions about oral cancer? Contact the professionals at DentaLux today!
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