{"id":14367,"date":"2023-04-20T20:32:02","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T20:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/?p=14367"},"modified":"2026-01-08T19:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T19:39:24","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Doctor holding red and white ribbon for oral cancer awareness\" class=\"wp-image-14368\" style=\"width:331px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1.jpg 1430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The American Cancer Society recently shared that a little more than 54,000 cases of oral cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2023. Despite its prevalence, many people continue to be unaware of the risk factors, the symptoms to look out for, and the important role their dentist plays in early detection. Fortunately, you can read on to learn about each of these!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Risk Factors of Oral Cancer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although oral cancer can affect patients of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds, there are certain things that have been linked to an increased risk of developing oral cancer, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gender (males are more likely to get oral cancer than females)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Age (older people are more likely to develop oral cancer)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tobacco use<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excessive alcohol consumption<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unprotected sun exposure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Human Papillomavirus (HPV)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7 Symptoms of Oral Cancer to Keep an Eye Out For<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being familiar with the common signs of oral cancer is crucial \u2013 it could make all of the difference in early detection! With this in mind, keep an eye out for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A sore in your mouth that doesn\u2019t go away<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trouble chewing, swallowing, or moving your tongue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Red or white patches on your tongue, gums, or the lining of your mouth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A change in your bite<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tenderness or numbness in your mouth or on your lips<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The feeling that something is caught in your throat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A lump or rough spot in your mouth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Importance of Routine Oral Cancer Screenings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naturally, early detection is of the utmost importance. The good news is that your dentist can help; they conduct oral cancer screenings at each of your biannual checkups! During the exam, they dedicate some time to looking at the floor of your mouth, your tongue, and the back of your throat, carefully looking for warning signs of oral cancer. It\u2019s such a quick and painless process that you likely won\u2019t even realize it\u2019s happening. If they notice anything concerning, they will bring it to your attention so you can talk to your primary care physician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With knowledge of the common risk factors and symptoms, you can do your part to lower your risk and get medical attention in the early stages. Of course, your dentist is also there to help, so schedule a checkup if it\u2019s been more than six months since your last one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In short, our team at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/\">Westgate Dental Care<\/a> is committed to improving your oral and overall health. That\u2019s why we take the time to screen for non-dental issues during your biannual checkups, including oral cancer. If it\u2019s been more than six months since your last visit to our office or you have a question about oral cancer screenings, don\u2019t hesitate to get in touch with our team via our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/contact.html\">website<\/a> or by phone at <strong>(847) 577-7171<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American Cancer Society recently shared that a little more than 54,000 cases of oral cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2023. Despite its prevalence, many people continue to be unaware of the risk factors, the symptoms to look out for, and the important role their dentist plays in early detection. Fortunately, you can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Did you know that April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month? So, keep reading to learn about the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of routine screenings!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Did you know that April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month? So, keep reading to learn about the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of routine screenings!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1.jpg\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"drkics\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/004b7f4b5de6b316e65a9ad1361ab344\"},\"headline\":\"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-20T20:32:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-08T19:39:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":479,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Picture1-1024x682.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/\",\"name\":\"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Picture1-1024x682.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-20T20:32:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-08T19:39:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/004b7f4b5de6b316e65a9ad1361ab344\"},\"description\":\"Did you know that April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month? So, keep reading to learn about the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of routine screenings!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Picture1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/Picture1.jpg\",\"width\":1430,\"height\":953},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/20\\\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Westgate Dental Care Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/004b7f4b5de6b316e65a9ad1361ab344\",\"name\":\"drkics\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month","description":"Did you know that April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month? So, keep reading to learn about the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of routine screenings!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month","twitter_description":"Did you know that April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month? So, keep reading to learn about the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of routine screenings!","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1.jpg","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/"},"author":{"name":"drkics","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/004b7f4b5de6b316e65a9ad1361ab344"},"headline":"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month","datePublished":"2023-04-20T20:32:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-08T19:39:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/"},"wordCount":479,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1-1024x682.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/","url":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/","name":"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1-1024x682.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-20T20:32:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-08T19:39:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/004b7f4b5de6b316e65a9ad1361ab344"},"description":"Did you know that April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month? So, keep reading to learn about the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of routine screenings!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Picture1.jpg","width":1430,"height":953},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/2023\/04\/20\/what-you-need-to-know-this-oral-cancer-awareness-month\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What You Need to Know This Oral Cancer Awareness Month"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/","name":"Westgate Dental Care Blog","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/004b7f4b5de6b316e65a9ad1361ab344","name":"drkics"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14369,"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14367\/revisions\/14369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westgatedentalcare.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}