When talking about oral cancer, I find a mixed bag of good and bad news.

First, let’s talk about the good news.  Dentists now have a tool to help detect and identify oral cancer much earlier than ever before, potentially reducing the devastating impacts of this disease on victims and their families.  Due to early screening techniques, deaths from many other cancers have actually gone down over the past 30 years.

The numbers, however, still ring with bad news.  Each year, 34,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer and 7,500 will die from it.  Just half of those diagnosed survive five years.  Oral cancer is one of the few cancers in the United States whose numbers have actually stayed the same or gone up over the last 30 years.
Typically, oral cancers are life threatening because they are detected so late.  Most Americans aren’t aware of oral cancer, even though it causes twice as many deaths as cervical cancer.

So what are the risk factors?

• Tobacco users - including cigarettes, chew or snuff, pipes or cigars.  Tobacco use is a serious risk factor.
• Anyone who drinks more than two alcoholic drinks per day - If you drink a lot of alcohol and use tobacco products, you have the greatest risk of getting oral cancer
• Individuals who spend a lot of time in the sun - This increases the risk of lip cancer.
• Individuals over the age of 40 – The average age may actually be decreasing because of the increased  usage of smokeless tobacco in younger men and women.
• Gender - Oral cancers affect men twice as often as women.
• Race – Oral cancers affect African Americans twice as often as Caucasians.
• Individuals with persistant viral infections - such as the human papilloma virus, particularly HPV 16.  The HPV 16 strain, which is a primary causative agent in cervical cancer, is now a known cause of oral cancer as well.
• A diet low in fruits and vegetables - as these foods have a protective value against many types of cancers.
• A history of previous head and neck cancer.

At Family Dentistry, P.C., my staff and I are proud to offer ViziLite Plus with T-Blue 630, the industry leader in oral cancer screening devices.  The procedure is really quite simple and painless.  Our patients rinse with a raspberry vinaigrette flavored solution.  Next, a special glow stick is opened, activated and placed in the patient’s mouth.  The light shines on the soft tissues, and, through the science of chemiluminescence, cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions literally light up so they can be easily detected.

We are excited about this technology and believe that this represents more good news, both today and in the future.

Dr. Cannon Daon - Dr. Doan graduated from the University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences School of Dentistry in June of 1984. He opened his preventive oriented practice in October of 1984.