This might come to you as a surprise but oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. That makes oral cancer a serious disease. Over the years, it has claimed many lives. While the most outstanding risk factors of this disease are smoking, chewing tobacco and excessive consumption of alcohol, approximately 25% of people who contract oral cancer do not fall into any of the high-risk categories.
Okay, that’s the bad news. The good news is that oral cancer can be successfully treated if it is detected in it’s early stages. That is why we urge you to make an oral cancer screening part of your six-month checkups. It is quick and painless, and it might just save your life.
Our doctors at The George R. Owino & Associates Dental Centre keenly look for telltale signs of altered tissues that have a higher chance of turning malignant. They will then keep them under regular reviews for any change in behaviour, that is why we take follow-up reviews very seriously. A small sample of abnormal growth of tissue may be taken and sent to the laboratory for testing and identification. Some lesions can be managed medically or can be surgically removed.