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Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Oral Cancer

Teeth Checking — Statesville and Mooresville, NC — Calm Waters Dentistry
Oral cancer can spread to other parts of your body and cause complications. Like many diseases, oral cancer is best prevented rather than treated. Below are some tips to minimize your risk of oral cancer.

Practice Good Oral Care

Oral irritations and infections increase your risk of oral cancer. Practice good oral care to minimize the risk. Specifically, you should:

  • Practice good oral hygiene to reduce the risk of infections
  • Ensure proper fit of all dental appliances
  • Get regular dental examinations
Get treatments for dental issues as soon as they emerge.

Maintain Good Overall Health

Your overall health affects your oral health, including your risk of oral cancer. Thus, maintain your health to reduce your risk of the disease. Below are some healthy tips to practice.

Get Good Nutrition

Poor nutrition robs you of minerals and vitamins you need to maintain a healthy body. For example, vitamin A deficiency has a link to oral car risk. Maintain a healthy diet, with adequate fruits and vegetables, to reduce the risk.

Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise helps in multiple ways. First, regular exercise contributes to overall physical health. Regular exercise also helps to prevent excess body weight, which might contribute to high cancer risk.

Prevent and Treat Emerging Diseases

Some diseases, such as Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, increase your risk of oral cancer. Prevent and treat other diseases even if they don't have an obvious link to oral cancer. Diseases weaken your immunity, and cancer thrives in weak immunity.

Limit Tobacco Use

In all its forms, tobacco use increases your risk of various forms of cancer, including oral cancer. The chemicals in tobacco, heat from smoking pipes, and smoke all contribute to the risk. The more tobacco you use and the longer you use it, the higher your risk of cancer increases. Ideally, you should stop tobacco use altogether.
Otherwise, limit its use extremely.

Limit Alcohol Use

In addition to tobacco, alcohol is another recreational rug that increases your risk of oral cancer. Alcohol affects your body's chemical balance and increases your risk of disease. Heavy drinkers have higher risks of oral cancer than light drinkers. Combining alcohol and tobacco increases the risk even further.

Limit UV Exposure

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation damages your skin and increases your risk of oral cancer. UV exposure around the mouth area can cause cancer of the lips. UV exposure mainly comes from sunlight. Thus, you can limit your UV exposure by:

  • Wearing a hat when in the sun
  • Applying sunscreen that blocks UV radiation
  • Going outside in the morning or evening when UV radiation is minimal
Manmade sources of UV radiation also exist. Examples include:

  • Tanning beds or booths
  • Mercury vapor lamps
  • Welding arcs
Limit your exposure to such things to reduce UV exposure. For example, a welder should use protective wear that blocks UV radiation.

Get Regular Dental Examinations

Lastly, you should also get regular dental examinations. Regular examinations may help because:

  • The dentist may identify emerging dental diseases before they increase your risk of oral cancer
  • The dentist will ensure your dental appliances properly fit
  • The dentist may diagnose oral cancer when it's still manageable
  • The dentist may give you further information on oral cancer prevention
Don't forget to consult your dentist any time you have an oral or dental issue - don't wait for your scheduled exam.

Hopefully, you won't suffer oral cancer or any form of cancer throughout your life. Contact Calm Waters Dentistry to be on the safe side. Our regular examinations can help you spot early signs of all oral health problems. You can also rely on our decades of experience to help you deal with all dental problems.
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