Mouth Cancer Screening in Wimbledon

Screening for cancer is the examination of people for early stages of cancer, even though they may have no symptoms.

The oral cavity is made up of the following parts of the mouth: the lips, the lining of the lips and cheeks, the teeth, the floor of the mouth under the tongue, the front two-thirds of the tongue, the bony top of the mouth, the gums, and the small area behind the wisdom teeth. Oral cancer can affect any, or all of these areas.

Thankfully, the number of new cases of oral cancer, as well as the number of deaths from oral cancer, has decreased, but anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Some of these risk factors for oral cancer are as follows:

• Sex: Men have a slightly higher risk of developing oral cancer than women.
• Race: The risk of developing oral cancer is higher in blacks than in whites.
• Age: The risk of developing oral cancer increases after age 45 years.
• Tobacco and Alcohol Use: The use of tobacco (including smokeless tobacco) and alcohol increases the risk of developing oral cancer.