April is Oral Cancer awareness month, so I thought I’d bring you some sobering facts.

This year, over 37,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer.  It will kill over 8,000 people.  That’s one person per hour, twenty hour hours per day, and only half of those diagnosed will survive more than 5 years.

The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that for cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, testicular cancer, and cancers of the endocrine system such thyroid and skin cancer (malignant melanoma).

Oropharyngeal cancers associated with the human Papillomavirus (HPV) are on the rise, especially among younger patients (under age 45).

So that is the bad news.  What is the good news?  There are many things you can do to help prevent oral cancer:

·        Stop smoking

Smokers are six times more likely to develop oral cancers.

·        Reduce excessive consumption of alcohol

Oral cancers are six times more common in drinkers than in non-drinkers

·        Reduce excessive sun exposure

Especially at a young age

·        Stop using smokeless tobacco

You are 50 times more likely to develop cancers of the cheek, gums or lips if you use snuff, dip or chewing tobacco.

·        Visit your dentist for a yearly exam

When it comes to saving lives, early detection is key.  We have several new technologies in the office to help diagnose oral cancers which I will talk about in my next blog.  Until then make sure to reduce your risk factors for oral cancer, and if you haven’t been seen in the office in the past year be sure to call to get checked out.