What Is Cancer Of The Mouth & How Can It Be Avoided?

What Is Cancer Of The Mouth & How Can It Be Avoided?

Mouth cancer is also known as oral cancer or cancer of the oral cavity. Physicians often use it as a term to describe several cancers that grow in the region of the mouth. Mouth cancer symptoms mostly occur on the mouth's lips, tongue, and floor. But in some cases, symptoms are also found in the cheeks, gums, tonsils, salivary glands, and roof of the mouth.

Generally, there are two classes of mouth cancers such as- head and neck cancers.

Symptoms of mouth cancer

A lump in the neck
Loose teeth
Changes in speech
Lip swelling
Painful swallowing
Bleeding or numbness in the mouth
Red and white patches on the mouth, gums, and tongue
Unexplained weight loss
Pain in ear
Jaw swelling and pain
Trouble moving the jaw and tongue
Mouth pain that never goes away

People who have oral cancer go through a tremendously painful journey. It’s important to enable the right treatment as soon as possible.

Treatment is the last possible thing, and you should try to prevent these diseases. Maintaining good oral health is all you need to prevent further oral diseases.

 How to prevent oral cancer?

Maintain a good oral hygiene

Regularly brushing and flossing your teeth should be a priority. An unclean mouth is a haven for viruses and bacteria.

A major factor contributing to the development of oral cancer is infection with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Your immune system is negatively impacted by a dirty mouth cavity, which is also harder for your body to fight off any cancers.

Avoid tobacco & betel nuts

Oral cavity cancers are five to twenty-five times more likely to develop in tobacco smokers. Chewing tobacco regularly increases the risk of oral cancer and should be discontinued immediately.

Chewing betel nuts is the main contributor to oral cavity cancer in India. Neither raw nor processed (pan masala) betel nuts should be chewed. Paan is made from betel leaves, areca nuts, and tobacco. There is evidence that it raises the risk of mouth cancer.

Eat healthy foods

Along with maintaining good oral hygiene and avoiding bad habits, you should also be careful about your food intake.

You should eat a lot of beans, berries, leafy and fibrous vegetables, flax seeds, grapes, green tea, garlic, tomatoes, soy, etc. these foods are rich in antioxidant properties and have a heightened role in preventing cancer.You should also avoid fried and grilled food.

Avoid HPV infections

The sexual transmission increases the risk of mouth cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission during oral sex or the exchange of reproductive fluids might result in the development of oral cancer.

Furthermore, none of the available supplementary oral cancer screening tools and procedures can now identify early-stage HPV-positive oral and oropharyngeal malignancies.

Visit a dentist regularly

Many people think that regularly visiting a dentist is not a choice. Even many people try to manage pain and swelling with homemade solutions.

Washing your mouth with salt water is okay, but that cannot be effective for serious conditions. If you are having mouth pain or any discomfort that is coming back to you, again and again, you should visit a dentist as soon as possible.

If you suspect cancer or are already diagnosed with it, you should not worry. You just need to enable the best mouth cancer treatment in Bangalore. You can connect with Dr. Athira Ramakrishnan (MBBS, MS-ENT, DNB- ENT). You will get proper guidance and recover quickly.