As a beauty editor, I often feel like I know all there is for a layperson to know about skin cancer. However, during a recent dinner with the Melanoma Research Alliance, someone mentioned something that shocked me. Your dentist should be checking for melanoma and other cancers during your routine checkups. I asked our expert dentists to expand on this and clarify what exactly they might find in our mouths that should worry us.
Featured experts
- Joseph Field, DDS is a board-certified cosmetic dentist in Los Altos, CA
- Lana Rozenberg, DDS is a board-certified cosmetic dentist in New York
- Husam Almunajed, DDS is a board certified cosmetic dentist in New York
Your dentist should be checking for cancer
Although I wasn’t aware that this was part of a dentist’s duties, or that one could get melanoma in the mouth, when I asked our experts, they said checking should be routine. “I check each new patient and at every patient check-up,” Los Altos, CA cosmetic dentist Joseph Field, DDS told us.
During every checkup, we do a thorough screening—not just of your teeth, but of your entire mouth and throat. This includes your lips, tongue, cheeks, gums, the roof and floor of your mouth and even the hard palate,” says New York cosmetic dentist Husam Almunajed, DDS. “Early detection is key. With regular checkups, we’re not just protecting your smile—we’re looking out for your overall health.”
“We routinely check for oral cancer in the mouth by checking first all intraoral mucosa, including cheeks, inside of the lips, the tongue and the floor of the mouth and roof of the mouth for any red or white patches,” says New York cosmetic dentist Lana Rozenberg, DDS. “Then we use toluidine dye with the Vizlite system (fluorescent dye and lights)to help with the detection. Some doctors also use OralID to help see any abnormalities in the mouth.”
What could cancer look like in the mouth?
Dr. Field notes that the appearance of cancer in the mouth varies, but the most common type tends to look white and patchy. “The cancer looks like either white or red patches with irregular borders. They are sores that don’t heal in the mouth,” says Dr. Rozenberg. “Early diagnosis and detection is the key.”
If you have abnormal-looking areas only on one side of the mouth, Dr. Field says that could be an indicator that something is off. Other signs and symptoms can include loose teeth, a growth or lump in the mouth, ear or mouth pain and difficulty or pain swallowing. “You need to see your dentist if you’re experiencing these symptoms,” says Dr. Rozenberg.
