Oral Cancer Screening

Your dental professional may screen you for oral cancer even if you do not have symptoms.
Screening tests are useful as they can help detect oral cancers early, decreasing the chance of
fatality due to these cancers. For most types of cancer, odds of survival are greatly increased
if diagnosed at an early stage.

Your dentist may exam you for lesions in the mouth, lips, hard palate, gums, tongue and
mucous membranes. If lesions are detected, a variety of screening methods may be used
to further investigate such as:

Biopsy
A biopsy is when a small excision of the suspicious tissue is made and sent for microscopic examination.

Exfoliative Cytology
Exfoliative Cytology is when cells are obtained by means of scraping or smearing and examined.

Imaging Tests
Imaging Test can come in the form of X-rays, ultra sounds, or MRIs X-rays, ultrasounds and magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) are other, and possibly less invasive, methods of detecting oral cancer that involve using radio wave energy to view possible subsurface masses and lesions.