Maintaining good oral health is crucial to preventing dangerous oral and dental conditions like gum disease, cavities, and oral cancer. Sadly, many people do not take their oral health with the seriousness it deserves. They neglect brushing and flossing daily and visit their dentists regularly for dental checkups, as dentists recommend. Taking care of your teeth and gums should be a priority, as it can protect you from many life-threatening conditions.

When your teeth and gums are in a poor state, you are at a higher risk for the virus that causes oral cancer. You are likely to suffer an oral infection containing HPV if you have poor dental health. HPV in your mouth can eventually result in oral cancer. Most people who have gum disease are also likely to have the HPV virus in their mouth.

Talk to an experienced dentist if you struggle to maintain good oral health or when you experience symptoms of gum disease for guidance, diagnosis, and treatment. Remember that in addition to maintaining excellent oral hygiene habits, you must undergo regular dental examinations as a preventive measure for oral cancer.

An Overview of Oral Cancer

Your mouth plays a crucial role in ensuring your body enjoys good nutrition. You consume healthy foods that fuel and strengthen your body through your mouth. You must take care of your mouth to enjoy those benefits. Caring for your mouth entails much, including your teeth, gums, and jawbone. A problem with one tooth can make it challenging to consume healthy meals, which the body needs for strength and good health. Your oral health is also connected to your general health. A problem with your teeth or gums can affect your general well-being. Thus, you must work closely with a skilled dentist to maintain good oral health.

Oral cancer is one of the most severe conditions that affect oral health and general well-being. It occurs when some of the cells in your mouth grow uncontrollably. The growing cells damage and invade the surrounding body tissues, affecting their function and health. Oral cancer affects all parts of the mouth; it can affect the throat, tongue, lips, cheeks, sinuses, or the floor of your mouth. It starts slowly, with a lump or persistent sore, which grows, spreads, and becomes uncontrollable and untreatable. Although oral cancer is untreatable in its late stages, dentists can diagnose and treat it at its onset before it becomes fatal.

Oral cancer is one of the many cancers that affect human necks and heads. Its diagnosis and treatment are almost similar to those of other cancers in this category. Dentists always advise seeking diagnosis and treatment when you experience pain, swelling, or any abnormality in and around your mouth. Remember that most dangerous oral conditions start with minor symptoms and escalate to severe conditions that threaten your life and cost a lot of time and money to treat.

Here are some of the indications that you could have oral cancer:

  • You have a lump or swelling or a rough spot on your lips, gums, or any other area inside your mouth.
  • You have an unusual whitish or reddish patch on the inside part of your mouth.
  • You start bleeding unusually from your mouth.
  • You experience a strange numbness, pain, or tenderness in any part of your mouth, face, or neck.
  • You have a persistent or unexplained mouth, neck, or face sore. The sores bleed easily, even after a touch, and do not heal after two weeks of treatment.
  • You persistently feel sore in your throat or constantly feel like there is an obstruction in the throat.
  • You experience challenges when chewing, speaking, or swallowing or difficulties moving your jaw or tongue.
  • You have a sore throat you cannot explain, or your voice has changed or become hoarse with no apparent cause.
  • You notice a change in how your teeth or dentures fit together.
  • You suddenly lose a lot of weight without an apparent cause.

Remember to visit your dentist whenever you experience changes or unusual symptoms in your mouth.

Note: Symptoms of oral cancer vary from person to person. Some experience only one symptom, while others experience several symptoms.

The Connection Between Oral Cancer and Poor Oral Hygiene

Your oral cavity is an integral part of your body. Your mouth and its related structures are the primary sites for communication and the main connection to your gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. Thus, a problem in the mouth, however minor, can affect various bodily functions, including how you communicate, eat, and breathe. Dentists recommend taking care of your mouth to prevent issues that could affect your general health. Therefore, poor oral health can affect your oral cavity’s integrity, increasing your risk of oral cancer.

Thus, there is a significant connection between oral cancer and poor oral hygiene. A poorly maintained mouth is more likely to develop HPV (human papillomavirus), a leading cause of oral cancer, than a well-maintained mouth. People whose dental health is poor are more susceptible to oral cancer. Maintaining excellent oral hygiene habits is one of the ways you can lower that risk. Excellent oral hygiene habits include brushing your teeth at least twice daily and flossing daily. This ensures you remove all food particles from your mouth.

Some foods and drinks remain in the mouth when you eat and drink. Some foods are stuck between your teeth, and others are in the nooks and crannies inside the mouth. Regular brushing removes stuck foods and drinks from the teeth, gums, tongue, and other parts of your mouth. Since the brush does not reach the spaces between your teeth, flossing takes care of those areas. When brushing your teeth, you must reach all areas within the mouth. Any food particles or traces you leave in the mouth become a perfect breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Once the harmful bacteria multiply within your mouth, you are at risk of dangerous conditions like cavities, gum disease, and oral cancer.

Proper oral hygiene also entails seeking treatment for any oral or dental issue you experience. This includes repairing or replacing damaged and lost teeth immediately. Damaged teeth become traps for some foods you eat, creating breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. If you have a cavity, ensure it is treated immediately after it develops. An untreated cavity can result in an infection, increasing your risk of cancer.

Excellent oral hygiene also entails visiting your dentist regularly for dental checkups and examinations. This helps diagnose and treat dental and oral problems at the onset. It also enables you to learn better habits that can help you improve and maintain your oral health. Trained and experienced dentists are experts in diagnosing and treating minor oral problems before they escalate into primary life-threatening conditions. If you are at risk of gum disease, your dentist will discuss measures you can take to reduce that risk.

However, you must practice your dentist's good oral hygiene to reduce your cancer risk. You must also be willing to drop some of the habits that contribute to cancer, including smoking. If you notice changes in your teeth, gums, jawbone, or any other part of your mouth, do not wait to be sure. You can avert severe oral conditions like oral cancer by seeking immediate treatment.

Other Factors Causing Oral Cancer

Poor oral hygiene is not an exclusive cause of oral cancer. Other factors play a vital role in developing this type of cancer. For example, smoking, alcohol consumption, and the consumption of tobacco using any other means can increase your chances of oral cancer. Tobacco contains different kinds of chemicals, most of which are carcinogenic. Carcinogenic chemicals trigger genetic changes in cells, which could cause abnormal growth of the affected cells. You can develop oral cancer if the affected cells are in the mouth cavity or cheeks. Nicotine in tobacco also affects your body’s ability to absorb crucial nutrients, eventually lowering its immunity.

Thus, smokers and tobacco consumers are more susceptible to oral cancer compared to people who never consume tobacco. Smokeless use of tobacco includes dipping, chewing, or sniffing. Excessive indulgence in alcohol also increases the risk of oral cancer by a high percentage.

People who have been diagnosed with the HPV virus are also more susceptible to oral cancer. Combining two or more risk factors puts you at high disease risk.

Oral HPV is the leading cause of oral cancer. Although having the virus does not automatically mean you will develop cancer, it puts you at a higher risk. Many factors contribute to having an HPV infection in the mouth. For example, having the virus in any other part, as the virus can spread to other body parts, including the mouth. The HPV virus can also develop in poor dental health conditions. You can develop an HPV infection due to gum disease. It can also occur in people whose immune systems are compromised and who have several oral sex partners.

Dentists insist on maintaining good oral health to reduce the risk of cancer. Typically, good oral hygiene is vital for overall well-being. Additionally, you can quickly notice changes in your oral health once the oral-cancer-causing virus plagues your mouth when your oral health is good. This way, you can seek immediate treatment and management of the virus before it develops into oral cancer. If you ignore a symptom or infection in the mouth or fail to notice it, the HPV virus can result in oropharyngeal cancer, which is an oral cancer that affects the base of your tongue.

Thus, maintaining good oral health and regular visits to the dentist are a perfect combination that could help prevent oral cancer. Remember that unhealthy teeth and gums increase your chance of suffering from an HPV-related infection, which can quickly develop into oral cancer. Diseased gums also provide an easy entry point for the virus through or from the bloodstream.

How Dentists Diagnose and Treat Oral Cancer

If you have oral cancer, a dentist can diagnose and treat it early. This will protect you from the unpleasant symptoms and save your life since oral cancer is a life-threatening condition. Your dentist can catch the early signs of the disease during your regular dental checkups and examinations or after you have visited them with one or more signs of the disease. Remember that most oral and dental conditions start with minor symptoms, which escalate over time. Thus, seeing a dentist immediately after you notice one or more signs of oral cancer is advisable.

If the disease is diagnosed early enough, you have a good chance of enjoying a healthy life. But if you ignore the signs and the disease remains untreated, it can spread to the nearby tissues and lymph nodes, significantly affecting your oral health and general well-being.

Fortunately, dentists can diagnose it during a regular dental exam. During regular exams, dentists check the condition and health of all your teeth, gums, and underlying structures. They can tell there is a problem if you have an unusual lump or irregular tissue in your mouth. Dentists also check for changes and abnormalities in the head, neck, face, and oral cavity. Your dentists will also check for color changes and sores, the other signs of oral cancer.

If they notice something unusual or suspicious during your regular examination or appointment with your dentist, your dentist will order more exams to determine the problem. If most of the symptoms suggest you could have oral cancer, your dentist will recommend doing a biopsy exam to determine whether or not you have cancerous cells. But they will first explain the different kinds of biopsies before recommending the most suitable one for your condition.

In most cases, dentists start with a brush biopsy. If the results are positive, they can perform a scalpel biopsy. Some dentists skip the brush biopsy because they still have to conduct a scalpel biopsy. The type of scalpel biopsy your dentist will choose will depend on the size of the affected area that requires examination. Your dentist will immediately develop a treatment plan if your oral cancer test is positive. Remember that delaying treatment for a severe condition like oral cancer can worsen your situation. Hence the need for immediate treatment.

Treatment for all cancers is almost the same. Depending on the severity of the disease, your dentist can put you on medication or recommend surgery.  Surgical treatment involves the removal of cancerous cells. The dentist can combine surgery or radiation therapy with medication, commonly called chemotherapy. Radiotherapy treats cancer by destroying cancerous cells.

Oral Cancer is Preventable

Most of the primary reasons for oral cancer, including poor oral hygiene habits and dangerous habits like smoking, are preventable. Dentists recommend strategies you can use to reduce your risk of oral cancer. The most common of these strategies include the following:

Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene Habits

Recall that poorly maintained teeth and gums are more prone to oral cancer than healthy gums and teeth. Thus, practicing good oral hygiene is a sure way to protect yourself from severe oral and dental conditions, including oral cancer. You must brush your teeth after every meal or at least twice daily. You must also floss daily to remove food particles between your teeth. When brushing, ensure you reach all the nooks and crannies in your mouth, which could be perfect breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. Ensure you use a dentist-recommended toothbrush and toothpaste to achieve the best results.

Make Regular Visits to the Dentist’s Office

This is another recommendation by dentists that helps treat some of the most dangerous dental and oral conditions at an early stage. During these regular visits, your dentist will examine your mouth, including your teeth’s underlying structures. They will recommend immediate treatment for any issue they encounter to prevent it from worsening or developing into a significant cause for concern. Your dentist will also clean your teeth professionally to remove buildups and stuck food particles that could encourage the growth of harmful bacteria. They will also recommend tips and strategies you can apply to enjoy good oral health at home.

Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle entails a lot, including your diet and behavior. What you eat determines how healthy you are. Some foods weaken your body’s ability to fight illnesses and diseases. Your dentist will advise against those. They will provide healthy alternatives that improve oral health and general well-being.

Other things you consume, like alcohol and tobacco, increase your risk of oral cancer. You could avoid those to remain healthy.

Find a Competent Dentist Near Me

Maintaining good oral health is beneficial in many ways, including preventing severe life-threatening conditions like oral cancer, boosting confidence, and improving general well-being. You can enjoy all these and more by adopting good oral health habits. In addition to keeping your teeth and gums clean, ensure you visit your dentist’s office regularly and seek treatment immediately if you notice a problem with your teeth or gums.

At Beach Dental Care Anaheim, we conduct thorough dental checkups and examinations. Thus, we can diagnose oral cancer at its onset and recommend the best treatment. We also offer quality advice and dental care to improve oral health and well-being. Call us at 714-995-4000 to discuss your worries and concerns regarding oral cancer in Anaheim. Our competent dentists have all the information you need for the best decision-making.