Cancer prophylaxis

Dental cancer prophylaxisOral cancer is not a widely-discussed topic in Poland, and its detection rate is extremely low.

Oral cancer is the second most frequent (after laryngeal cancer) head and neck cancer in Poland. In the USA, it is the 6th most common cancer. It is usually diagnosed after it has reached III and IV grade because there is no early screening diagnostics. Developing cancer remains asymptomatic for a long time.

Oral cancer, if it is not diagnosed early, leads to severe damage in the human body. The patient often loses the sense of taste, and sometimes the ability to eat and speak. That is why it is so important to detect the foci of the disease within the oral cavity using screening methods and prophylaxis.

• age (> 40 years of age)
• sex (men 70%, women 30%),
• smoking and tobacco use,
• alcohol addiction,
• nicotine + alcohol (15-times higher incidence) higher incidence),
• HPV 16/18 infection (>6 sexual partners),
• physical stimuli (trauma, ionising radiation and UV),
• immunosuppression (immunosuppressant drugs decrease the immunity of the human body),
• cancer (in the Patient or in the family),
• improper oral hygiene, bad diet,
• individual susceptibility, socioeconomic conditions.

The task of the dentist is not only to treat decayed teeth but also the entire oral cavity. In many cases, it is the dentist who spots symptoms that may indicate the development of various dangerous systemic diseases, including cancer. That is why in our Dental Clinic we go beyond the standard procedures in the dental office.

Our dentists and assistants carefully observe all worrying lesions during examination. Such detailed examination enables us sometimes to spot early signs of cancer that can be treated successfully at this moment of time.

Thanks to the use of technology and the clinical experience of the dentists working at Dental Clinic at St. Wojciech’s Hospital in Poznan we can offer effective diagnostics and prophylaxis of oral cancer.

Education– we inform the patients of the dangers related to pathology within the oral cavity and explain how Important it is to maintain oral hygiene, and what behaviour patterns increase the risk of the disease.

Diagnostics– we perform screening examination including detailed interview, extra- and intraoral examination. During the treatment, we evaluate not only dentition and gums, but also the entire oral Cavity, internal surfaces of the cheeks, the palate, pharynx, and – most of all – lips, tongue and mucous membrane. Additionally, the clinician, when examining the patient, pays attention to face symmetry, the state of lymph nodes (submental, submandibular and cervical) and other lesions within the Patient’s skin.

In addition to clinical examination at our Department, we use 3D radiography using CBCT and laboratory tests. If worrying symptoms occur, we refer the Patient for further examinations and oncological consultation.

PROPHYLAXIS– we pay particular care to Patients in the so-called high-risk groups. We invite such patients to check-ups more often and we monitor their oral health. We make them attentive to worrying symptoms that may indicate the development of cancer, and we promote oral health.

• All kinds of thickening within the cheeks, lips or alveolar ridge,
• changes in sensation within the oral cavity, e.g. numbness, stinging or tingling, feeling of severe cold or heat,
• a single lesion or a bleeding wound within the lips, the tongue, the internal surface of the cheeks, that keeps for more than 3 weeks,
• limitation of tongue mobility, pain and mobility, swelling affecting maxilla or mandible
• sensation of gagging, an obstruction within the pharynx without a known reason, trismus, problems chewing and swallowing,
• pain affecting the tongue, strange earache, other kinds of pain within the oral Cavity,
• increase of lymph nodes in size, particularly if this is accompanied by becoming harder and sticking to the base (and the lymph nodes may be painless),
• weight loss without obvious reasons, constant fatigue and weakness.

Each lesion within the oral cavity, which does not react to treatment and persists for more than two weeks, should be consulted by a dentist!