Free Oral Cancer Screenings

The Oral Cancer Foundation is encouraging medical and dental offices to offer free oral cancer screenings during April, which is Oral Cancer Awareness Month.  The Foundation's website has startling statistics about oral cancer.

In 2013, as many as 4200 people will face a diagnosis of oral and pharyngeal cancer.  Early detection is the key.  If detected in Stage 1 or 2, survival rates can be as high as 80-90%.  If diagnosed in Stage 3 or 4, survival rates drop to 20-30%

"Regular dental checkups, when they incorporate oral cancer examinations, as well as an increased public awareness of oral cancer's risk factors, can reduce the death rate of this disease. The importance of early detection, and the need for an annual screening, are the most crucial factors in reducing treatment related quality of life issues and the ultimate survival of oral cancer patients. Unlike most other cancer detection exams, the screening for oral cancer does not require any special equipment, pain, high cost, invasive tests, or procedures. Any dentist or primary care physician and many nurses and dental hygienists, who have been trained to do oral cancer examinations, can perform these screenings during a routine office visit."

Please make a commitment to help. Visit: http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2013/03/oral-cancer-awareness-do-good-in-the-world-do-good-in-your-pract.html

In honor of Oral Cancer Awareness Month, every article posted on this site during the month of April will be focused on a different aspect of oral cancer.