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Teeth and Tongue Cancer
January 29, 2009 |
In the past it was thought that most mouth and throat cancers were caused by smoking.
Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Phillip Andrews says, “In the past we always
thought of this as a smoker’s cancer. Either smokers or a dipper or a chewer, tobacco
of
some sort. But over the past eight to ten years about 30 to 35% of my new cancer
patients are non-smokers.”
While it is most often diagnosed in adults, anyone can develop tongue cancer at
any age. Dr. Andrews adds, “It can happen at any age. A couple of weeks ago I just
operated on the youngest person I’ve ever operated on for this cancer - a 21 year
old girl who just had a baby six weeks ago and she had a cancer of the tongue.”
Dr. Andrews says a habit many people have also increases their risk of developing
tongue cancer. “One of the things that can cause cancer of the tongue is a rough
spot on a tooth if it just gets rubbed constantly day after day for years. We don’t
know for sure what the direct relationship is to why this leads to a cancer but
we know a chronic irritation of any sort can cause a cancer and this is just one
of those that it does,” he says.
Proper oral care and regular dental visits can help you lower your risk for developing
mouth cancers. Many times a dentist can recognize the symptoms at their earliest
stages.
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