Your preventive routine has an important hand in the overall quality of your smile. This means that not only must you ensure you are practicing a well-rounded routine, but that you are doing so in a consistent manner. While tooth decay and infection are among the most common threats to worry about, they are far from the only factors that threaten your smile’s health and integrity. In today’s blog, your Leawood, KS dentist explains why we conduct oral cancer screenings during your routine examination, and how you can protect your smile from this concern.
Why Your Checkup Matters
It goes without saying that dental prevention is our primary line of defense to protect our grins against the barrage of factors that aim to compromise it. Indeed, infection, decay, quality of care, and even the foods and beverages you consume can all lead to negative effects on your teeth, which is why it is so important to ensure oral protection and care.
One way that you are able to stay on top of your health is by attending your routine preventive appointment once every six months. During this visit, we will take care to examine your structures for any signs of decay, infection, damage, trauma, and more, as well as provide a dental cleaning to ride your structures of plaque and tartar buildup.
In addition to checking your teeth, we also perform an oral cancer screening to ensure your tissues are healthy. Though you may believe that this step is unnecessary, especially if you do not smoke cigarettes, the truth of the matter is that anyone can develop oral cancer, making it an important step in the process. To learn more about the need for oral cancer screenings, contact our team today.
A Necessary Process
Contrary to popular belief, oral cancer is not a phenomenon specific to smokers. As a matter of fact, anyone of any age can develop this concern, and it is characterized by cells that mutate and continue to grow, resulting in inflamed tissue and sores.
These sores can develop on the lips, cheeks, tongue, throat, the roof of the mouth, and floor of the mouth. What’s more? Risk factors include tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, extended sun exposure to the lips, and Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Prioritizing Oral Health
Your oral health is directly related to your overall health, and it is best to treat situations earlier rather than later. Though there is not a way to completely prevent developing oral cancer, minimizing alcohol consumption, ceasing tobacco use, and being cautious about sun exposure to the lips help reduce your chances. Additionally, the sooner the phenomenon is caught, the better off you will be.
Schedule Your Appointment
Contact Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS by calling 913-681-5500 to learn more about the need for oral cancer screenings, and schedule your next appointment with our team today.
