At this point, everyone in the world knows that smoking is incredibly bad for your health. It will give you lung cancer, in addition to a litany of other undesirable, and incurable, health problems.
Smoking does more than that, though. One of the aspects of smoking that’s often overlooked is the role it plays in causing oral cancer. Hopefully by learning more about the4 impact smoking has on oral cancer risk, some people can stop.
What types of cancer?
Oral cancer is exactly what it sounds like – a cancerous growth in your mouth, jaw, teeth, or gums. A dentist treats oral cancer, though they’ll work in conjunction with your oncologist.
Dr. Jonathan Trecker and Dr. Marcus Lopez have seen many different types of oral cancer. Almost all cases have unfavorable outcomes.
What does it cause?
Oral cancer isn’t necessarily fatal if treated early. However, it still presents a huge infection risk to the rest of your body. What’s fairly common is to see oral cancer eat away at your gums and teeth, eliminating them and filling your mouth with infection.
And where will all that infection travel? You’re right – everywhere else in your body.
Prevention
Even if you don’t smoke, you can still get oral cancer. Luckily, every appointment here at Trecker and Lopez Family Dentistry in Springfield, Massachusetts, includes an oral cancer screening. A simple screening is all that’s needed to make sure that your oral health is where it needs to be.
Of course, the best thing you can do to avoid oral cancer is to avoid smoking tobacco at all. For more information, questions, or to make an appointment, call us today at 413-782-5159.