Oral Cancer Screening
and Rehabilitation

During an oral cancer screening exam, your dentist looks over the inside of your mouth to check for red or white patches or mouth sores. Using gloved hands, your dentist also feels the tissues in your mouth to check for lumps or other abnormalities. The dentist may also examine your throat and neck for lumps. Dr. Merchant has introduced an Enhanced Oral Assessment System which centers on a wireless handheld scope that uses natural tissue fluorescence to help discover oral mucosal abnormalities like oral cancer and other precancerous legions that otherwise would have been overlooked or not visible to the naked eye.

The cosmetic, functional, and psychosocial results of oral cancer treatment may combine to produce devastating effects on patients, especially if the tumor is extensive or the treatment particularly aggressive. Indeed, oral cancer is noted for the toll it exacts from patients, from both the disease itself and the effects of its treatment. A variety of functions can be affected, including speech, deglutition, management of oral secretions, and mastication. Thus, maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation is a cornerstone of efforts to restore the head and neck cancer patient’s oral functions and cosmesis following surgery to pre-treatment baselines.