Oral Pathology Pro­tect­ing Your­self Against Oral Cancers

The inside of the mouth is nor­mally lined with a spe­cial type of skin (mucosa) that is smooth and coral pink in color. Any alter­ation in this appear­ance such as per­sis­tent ulcers or sus­pi­cious masses could be a warn­ing sign for a patho­log­i­cal process. The most seri­ous of these processes is oral cancer.

The fol­low­ing can be signs at the begin­ning of a patho­logic process or can­cer­ous growth:

• Red­dish patches (ery­thro­plakia) or whitish patches (leukopi­akia) in the mouth
• A sore that fails to heal and bleeds easily
• A lump or thick­en­ing on the skin lin­ing the inside of the mouth
• Chronic sore throat or hoarseness
• Dif­fi­culty in chew­ing or swallowing

These changes can be detected on the lips, cheeks, palate, and gum tis­sue around the teeth, tongue, face, and/or neck. Pain does not always occur with pathol­ogy and, curi­ously, is not often asso­ci­ated with oral can­cer. How­ever, any patient with facial and/or oral pain with­out an obvi­ous cause or rea­son may also be at risk for oral cancer.

We would rec­om­mend per­form­ing an oral can­cer self-examination monthly and remem­ber that your mouth is one of your body’s most impor­tant warn­ing sys­tems. Do not ignore sus­pi­cious lumps or sores. Please con­tact us so we may help.