Gladstone, MO -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/21/2015 -- Oral cancer affects more than 42,000 people each year in the United States. Even more disturbing is the fact that the mortality rate of the disease has remained unchanged in over thirty years, due in part to late diagnoses. At Gladstone Family Dental Group, Dr. David Platt and Dr. Gregory Dale understand the importance of early detection and diagnosis in order to increase a patient's chances of survival.

Oral cancer screening is one of the most important aspects of routine dental exams at the practice and is included without any additional charge. "We perform a complete head and neck exam and an intra-oral cancer screening on every patient," says Dr. Platt, "Our aim is to detect possible oral cancer in its earliest stage. When patients skip their routine dental exams, they forget that they are also missing out on oral cancer screenings."

Many people only find out that they have oral cancer when it has already advanced beyond its preliminary stages. By then, it may already be too late.

Common risk factors related to oral cancer include tobacco use, alcohol consumption and the human papilloma virus (HPV). "Risk factors for oral cancer vary for different people. Some risk factors, such as age or race, can't be changed. Others may be related to smoking, drinking, or diet. Some factors influence risk more than others," explains Dr. Dale.

Oral and oropharyngeal (throat) cancers are twice as common in men as in women. This might be because men have been more likely to use tobacco and alcohol in the past. While this is changing, the recent rise in HPV-linked cancers has been mainly among younger men.

About Dr. Platt and Dr. Dale
Dr. Platt and Dr. Dale regularly attend lectures and continuing education courses in order to bring their patients the latest and best in patient comfort, accurate diagnoses and state-of-the-art technology and techniques.

To make an appointment with Gladstone Family Dental Group, call 816-452-3420.