Although there’s no way to reduce your risk of developing some form of oral cancer to zero, you can certainly lower your risk significantly by taking a few precautions. Cancer can develop on your lips, inner cheeks, gums, or in your throat.
Dr. Stephen Hiroshige wants you to love the look of your smile, but health is the first and most important goal of his dental practice. That’s why Dr. Hiroshige offers both cosmetic procedures like teeth whitening and veneers along with routine dental exams, fillings, and root canals.
Regular dental exams include oral cancer screenings, but in addition to those visits, you can also make some lifestyle changes to protect yourself.
You already know smoking is bad, but did you know that includes pipe smoking? Smoking a pipe is correlated with a much higher risk of developing lip cancer. Similarly, chewing tobacco significantly raises your risk of developing oral cancer.
Vaping has been promoted as a method to help people quit smoking, and in some circumstances, it may. However, e-cigarettes and vaping are associated with increased cancer risk. That risk is less than with traditional cigarettes, but still higher than if you didn’t use tobacco at all.
The chemicals in tobacco products are carcinogenic and make it more likely that you’ll develop some form of cancer. It’s better for your health overall to not use tobacco.
Alcohol doesn’t contain the same kinds of carcinogens that tobacco products do, but it does damage the lining of your mouth. The specific damage that alcohol causes makes you more vulnerable to the carcinogens in tobacco, so if you smoke and drink together, your risk of cancer is much higher than if you did neither.
Even people who drink moderately have almost twice as much risk of developing oral cancer as someone who doesn’t drink. People who drink heavily are five times more likely to develop mouth or throat cancer.
People who spend lots of time in the sun or who use tanning beds are more likely to develop lip cancer. You probably don’t think often about how vulnerable your lips are to the sun, but they are exposed constantly.
Use a lip product that contains sunscreen, and remember to reapply it often. The Skin Cancer Foundation maintains a list of products that they award the Seal of Recommendation so you know they are safe and effective.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of more than 200 different but related viruses. Some HPV viruses are spread through sex and can cause several different forms of cancer, including oral cancer.
Getting an HPV vaccine prevents infection from those types of HPV that cause disease, including HPV-related oral cancer.
Regular dental visits that include oral cancer screenings can help, too. Pre-cancerous cell growth can be identified and removed before becoming cancerous. If you’ve had such cell growth removed in the past, it’s important to continue to have regular check-ups.
If you have a family history of oral cancer, have a history of tobacco use, or other reason to think you have a higher risk of developing mouth cancer, schedule an appointment to discuss prevention measures with Dr. Hiroshige.
