Top Three Risk Factors for Oral Cancer
Are you at risk of developing oral cancer? Would you know if you were? The truth is, many people do not know if they are putting themselves at risk for oral cancer. What they do know is that they do not want to get it.
Thankfully, there are some pretty obvious risk factors for developing oral cancer. Here are the top three. If you find yourself at risk, come in and see us. We can help.
Tobacco Use is Number One
If you want to avoid oral cancer, one way to do that is to avoid all tobacco products. If you already use them, get help to quit.
It is easy to see the direct correlation between tobacco and your mouth since it touches your mouth directly. The earlier you can quit using them, the better, since this can lower your oral cancer risk significantly.
Drinking Alcohol is Number Two
Drinking on occasion is one thing, but drinking a lot, on a regular basis, is not good for you. You likely know that it hurts your liver. However, it also causes damage to your oral tissues.
They get dry when you drink alcohol, plus, they also get the direct hit of the alcohol on those tender tissues. This hurts your mouth, and should simply be avoided if you want to avoid the risk of cancer.
Sun Exposure is Number Three
Sun exposure increases your risk of all types of cancer. Many believe it doesn’t hurt their mouth because their mouth is closed, however.
This is not the case. Your risk of oral cancer is higher than normal if you worship the sun as well, so keep yourself from being outside too much to keep your risk level down.
If you find that your risk levels are high, make sure you mention that to us at your next appointment. We will make sure to keep an extra vigilant eye out on your oral health with you.