A very Important part of any recall appointment is the oral cancer screening.

-Our goal is to identify suspicious or obvious lesions during every re-care appointment.  The best chances of a cure are when we can identify any change at an early stage.  We try to identify these areas before the symptoms of disease are evident.  Oral cancer is most easily treated when it is identified before it gets a chance to spread (metastasize).

-Very often the only symptom of early oral cancer is a sore area of the mouth or tongue.  Many times no symptoms are present in early cancer lesions. Examination may reveal only a small area of red or white tissue on the gum, cheek or tongue area.  After careful removal of any possible cause we wait a short time before revaluating all areas.  Any areas of change that remain  will require microscopic examination to determine their cause and treatment.