Roughly 90 percent of people with oral cancer are tobacco users. The risk increases with the duration and amount of tobacco used. A combination of smoking and alcohol use has a multiple effect, with the risk being greater than that associated with tobacco or alcohol alone. Oral cancers are twice as common in men as in women. Any mouth sore or mouth pain that lasts a week or more should be checked out by a physician or dentist.
Most dentists perform routine screenings for oral cancer during periodic check-ups.
If a suspicious area is found, the dentist may recommend a biopsy cutting out or taking a tissue sample and sending it to a lab for analysis. The patient may need stitches and have postoperative pain and bleeding. Since a biopsy is such an invasive procedure, the dentist may decide to wait and have the patient come back for frequent check-ups when a diagnosis is uncertain. Instead of cutting, a small brush is pressed and spun over the area. As the brush is turned, it picks up cells from the suspicious area.