Oral Cancer Screening


Sellwood-Moreland and Portland OR

At Whole Health Dentistry, we offer oral cancer screening to all our patients. Why? We are committed to helping reduce this number: 48,250.

That is the number of Americans who will be diagnosed with oral or pharyngeal cancer this year, and nearly 9,575 of them will die. That equates to one person dying every hour, 24 hours a day. The surprising fact is that oral cancer is detectable with a simple device that we use at Whole Health Dentistry.

Did you know that practically every adult in the U.S. is at risk of developing oral cancer?

However, certain risk factors increase your risks of developing oral cancer such as:

  • Tobacco usage
  • Heavy drinking
  • HPV
  • Excessive sun exposure
  • Certain chemicals
  • GERD (reflux disease)
  • Diet

The problem with oral cancer is it does not show noticeable symptoms until the later stages, which means less likely survival rate. If caught early by oral cancer screenings, the patient has a much higher survival rate. Oral cancer screenings should be part of your routine dental checkup.

How we do it? Every time you have a cleaning or checkup at Whole Health Dentistry, you will get a complimentary no-charge basic oral cancer screening. We also recommend a bi-annual basic screening twice a year and an additional specific screening—OralID—once a year. OralID uses fluorescence technology, a blue light, that illuminates the oral tissues in such a way that the dentist can detect oral cancer or pre-cancerous lesions. The purpose of OralID is to catch oral cancer in the beginning stages and save lives.

If you ever notice a lump, bump, crack, ulcer, lesion or similar in your mouth, on your lips, palate, gums, cheek or throat, contact our office to request an immediate additional exam.

To learn more about OralID exams visit oralID.com. To learn more about oral cancer visit oralcancerfoundation.org.

For more information about oral cancer screenings, or to schedule an appointment, please call Whole Health Dentistry today at (503) 462-1538.