Oral Cancer Screening · San Ramon
Ninety seconds at every visit
It takes almost no time, it is included in every exam, and occasionally it is the most important thing we do all week.
Who this is for
- Everyone — this is part of every routine exam here
- A sore or patch in your mouth that has not healed in two weeks
- Current or former tobacco use, or regular alcohol
- A lump in the neck or persistent hoarseness
Why the timing matters so much
Oral cancer caught early is very often highly treatable. Caught late, after it has spread to the lymph nodes, outcomes fall sharply. The gap between those two scenarios is frequently just a matter of months.
The difficulty is that early lesions are usually painless. There is no symptom prompting anyone to seek help, which is precisely why a routine screening on someone with no complaints is worth doing at all.
You are in a dental chair twice a year with your mouth open and good lighting. It would be strange not to look.
What we actually check
Lips, gums, the inside of the cheeks, the tongue including underneath and along the sides, the floor of the mouth, the roof, and the back of the throat. We also feel the neck and under the jaw for lymph nodes.
We are looking for patches that are white or red and do not wipe away, ulcers that have not healed, unexplained lumps or thickening, and anything asymmetrical — because one side of a mouth is normally a fair mirror of the other.
The floor of the mouth and the sides of the tongue matter most; those are where the majority of oral cancers appear, and both are places you cannot see yourself.
If we find something
Most of what we find is not cancer. Cheek bites, ulcers, irritation from a sharp filling, and harmless variations are far more common. We will tell you when we think something is benign and why.
When something needs watching, we photograph it, note the dimensions, and see you in two weeks. Most things resolve in that window and that is the end of it.
When something needs a specialist opinion we refer you the same week, and we will be straightforward with you about why. We would rather have a slightly uncomfortable conversation early than a much worse one later.
Questions
Answered before you ask.
Do I need this if I do not smoke?
Yes. Tobacco and alcohol remain the largest risk factors, but HPV-related oral cancers are rising and occur in people with none of the traditional risks. Rates in non-smokers have been climbing for years.
What should I look out for myself?
Anything that has not healed in two weeks — an ulcer, a white or red patch, a lump, a rough area. Two weeks is the threshold worth acting on. Do not wait for it to hurt; early lesions usually do not.
Does it involve any special equipment?
For a routine screening, no — good light, a mirror, gauze and hands. Adjunct devices exist and the evidence for them adding much to a careful visual and physical examination is mixed, so we do not charge you for one.
Is it uncomfortable?
No. We hold the tongue with gauze to see the sides properly, which feels slightly odd for a few seconds. That is the extent of it.
Related care
In their words
Thirty years of families who stayed.
Every quote below is a patient's own, unedited, from our reviews.
“We LOVE LOVE LOVE Avalon Dental! Dr. B is the best dentist we’ve ever gone to”
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