PREVENTATIVE DENTISTRY IN TACOMA & LAKEWOOD
Oral Cancer Screening
A few minutes can tell us a lot
You probably don’t spend much time examining the inside of your mouth. We do.
An oral cancer screening gives your dentist an opportunity to look closely for unusual changes in your lips, tongue, cheeks, gums, throat, and other areas of your mouth including some that are pretty difficult to see in your bathroom mirror.
It’s a quick, comfortable part of preventative dental care at both our Tacoma and Lakewood offices.
What are we looking for?
Most unusual spots or changes in your mouth aren’t cancer. But when something doesn’t look or feel right, finding it early gives you the opportunity to have it evaluated sooner.
During an oral cancer screening, we’ll look for changes such as sores that aren’t healing, unusual red or white patches, lumps, thickened tissue, or other abnormalities.
If we see something that deserves another look, we’ll explain what we found and what we recommend doing next.
Why include screening in a dental visit?
Because your dentist sees parts of your mouth you probably don’t.
Regular dental appointments give us the opportunity to notice changes over time, including ones that aren’t causing pain or other obvious symptoms.
It’s one more reason preventative dentistry is about much more than keeping your teeth clean.
Make screening part of your routine
If it’s time for your next dental visit, we’ll take care of more than your teeth while you’re here.
