Mouth Cancer Awareness: What Your Dentist Checks

November is Mouth Cancer Action Month. It is a good moment to talk about something that happens at every dental check-up but that patients rarely ask about. When you come in for an examination, we are not just looking at your teeth and gums. We are also checking for early signs of mouth cancer.

This screening is a routine part of every examination, and it takes only a few minutes. Early detection makes a very significant difference to outcomes, which is exactly why it is included as standard.

Why This Matters

Mouth cancer can develop in the lips, tongue, cheeks, floor of the mouth, soft palate, hard palate, and throat. In the UK, around 8,800 people are diagnosed each year, and cases have been increasing steadily over the past two decades.

The difficulty is that mouth cancer in its early stages is frequently painless. Patients often do not notice anything unusual themselves until a lesion has been present for some time. When it is caught early, the outlook is considerably better. Five-year survival rates for early-stage mouth cancer are around 90 per cent. That figure falls significantly for later-stage diagnoses.

Your dentist and hygienist see the inside of your mouth in detail at regular intervals. That puts us in a position to notice changes that you might not see yourself.

How Often Is Mouth Cancer Picked Up at a Routine Appointment?

More often than people might expect. Dentists and hygienists regularly identify suspicious lesions that go on to be investigated further, some of which turn out to be early-stage cancers. This is the system working exactly as it should: a routine check catching something before a patient would have had reason to seek help.

What the Screening Involves

The examination is visual and tactile, and it follows a consistent routine. It takes around two to three minutes as part of your regular check-up.

We look at the lips, examining both the outer surface and the inner lining. We check the inside of each cheek, the gum tissue around your upper and lower teeth, and the roof of the mouth. We examine both sides of the tongue and the underside, along with the floor of the mouth. The underside of the tongue and the floor of the mouth are areas where cancers particularly commonly develop, and they are spots patients rarely look at themselves.

We also feel gently along the floor of the mouth and check the lymph nodes in the neck. Enlarged or firm lymph nodes can sometimes be an indicator that something is happening in the surrounding tissue.

What Does an Abnormal Finding Look Like?

We are looking for anything that is not normal tissue. This includes red patches, white patches, or mixed red and white patches that cannot be explained by a clear cause. We look for ulcers that have been present for more than three weeks without healing, any lump or thickening of the tissue, and areas that feel different when palpated. Most things we find have benign explanations, but anything that cannot be explained or does not resolve is referred promptly for specialist investigation.

At Harwood Dental Care

This screening is carried out by our dentists and also by our hygienists Louise Todd-Miller and Lisa Johnson during hygiene appointments. It is embedded in every routine visit as standard. It does not involve any additional discomfort or separate procedure.

Does the Screening Hurt?

Not at all. You might be asked to stick your tongue out, lift it, or open your mouth in a particular way so we can see certain areas clearly. There is no discomfort involved.

Risk Factors Worth Knowing

The main risk factors for mouth cancer are tobacco use in any form, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco. Heavy alcohol consumption is also a significant risk factor, and the combination of tobacco and alcohol carries a considerably higher risk than either alone.

Human papillomavirus, specifically HPV-16, is now recognised as a significant cause of mouth cancer, particularly in younger adults. Sun exposure is a risk factor specifically for cancer of the lip.

Mouth cancer is not only a condition of older age groups. HPV-related mouth cancers in particular are increasingly diagnosed in people in their thirties, forties, and fifties.

What Should I do if I Notice Something Between Appointments?

If you notice a sore, ulcer, or unusual patch in your mouth that has not resolved within three weeks, contact us rather than waiting until your next scheduled appointment. The vast majority of the time there is a simple explanation, but it is always better to get it checked promptly.

Book a Check-Up in Bolton

If you are overdue a routine examination, or if you have noticed anything in your mouth that has not resolved, now is a sensible time to come in. Mouth cancer screening is included in every check-up as standard.

Call us on 01204 304568 or book online to arrange your appointment. Harwood Dental Care, Bolton.