Dental X-Rays & Oral Cancer

Dental X-Ray

• Many oral diseases can't be detected on the basis of a visual and tactile examination alone. Dental X-ray exams are valuable in providing information about your oral health such as early stage cavities, gum diseases, abscesses or some types of tumors. X-rays can help dentists catch and treat oral health problems at an early stage.
• How often dental X-rays should be taken depends on your oral health condition, your age, your risk for disease and any signs and symptoms of oral disease you may be experiencing. Let's talk about what is right for you.
• The American Dental Association has information about dental X-rays on its Web site at ADA.org if you would like more information.

Oral Cancer

• People can get lesions, sores or spots in their mouths for a variety of reasons and many times these sores go away on their own and pose no problem. However, if you have a sore or spot in your mouth that has been there for more than two weeks, it's important that it be evaluated.
• As your dentist, I routinely screen you for oral cancer by carefully examining your mouth, tongue and neck. If I find anything suspicious, I may refer you directly to an oral surgeon or physician for further evaluation or I may screen any suspicious spot or sore in my office. If I conduct a screening in my office, it can help me determine whether a referral is indicated.
• The screening I conduct in my office is just a screening... not a definite diagnosis... only a surgical biopsy can confirm if a lesion, spot or sore is oral cancer.
• The best way to prevent oral cancer is to avoid risky behaviors including tobacco and alcohol use.
• For more information on oral cancer, visit the American Dental Association's Web site at ADA.org and the Journal of the American Dental Association patient page on detecting oral cancer early here.