Oral Cancer: Facts Oral Cancer Facts Approximately 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year. Oral cancer kills approximately 8,000 Americans every year.  That’s one person every hour, every day. The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cervical cancer, brain cancer, skin cancer and Hodgkins disease. Risk factors for oral cancer include tobacco use and excessive consumption of alcohol. A tobacco user is four to five times more likely to develop oral cancer than a non-tobacco user. An alcohol user is three times more likely to develop oral cancer than a non-alcohol user. A person who uses alcohol and tobacco is 100 times more likely to develop oral cancer than someone who does not use either substance There are no known risk factors in 25 percent of cases. Signs and symptoms include sores that bleed and don’t heal, swelling of the tongue or throat, red or white spots, or even tiny marks that look similar to canker sores. Treatment for oral cancer can be both disfiguring and debilitating. Having oral cancer greatly increases the risk of developing other cancers, even after it is cured. Ten to 40 percent of those cured will develop cancer in an area close to the mouth such as the larynx, esophagus, or lungs. Early detection is imperative.  If detected early, the survival rate of oral cancer increases from 57 percent to 81 percent. The OralCDx brush biopsy is a revolutionary tool that assists in the early detection of oral cancer. It is a simple, painless diagnostic test used by dentists on red or white spots in the mouth that could be cancerous.  Delta Dental is one of the first dental benefits providers in the U.S. to add coverage of the brush biopsy to its core group of covered services.

© Copyright 2008 Delta Dental of Tennessee.
All Rights Reserved.