mouth cancer worries

[justasking]

My mum has found something in her mouth that to me looks like nothing but she has smoked pretty much all her life and has been very worried over this. Who would she have to go to see to get this checked, a doctor or a dentist?

[mattie]

A doctor, a dentist would send her to the doctor anyway, I expect.

If the GP thinks it necessary, they will refer her to a specialist.

Don't leave it though, ring the doctor ASAP.

[China Doll]

Absolutely second justasking's answer. Get her to the GP's as soon as possible for proper medical advice.

[justasking]

Ok, i will try and get her to go, shes so worried tho that she says she wont go but i will keep on until she does. Thanks.

[MrXLA]

Hi justasking, both mattie and China Doll are incorrect, GPs do not have adequate (in fact they have none!) training in the oro-facial region and as such it would be more appropriate to make a visit to someone who is i.e. a dentist.
The GP would have no choice but to refer either to a dentist or a specialist in either oral medicine or maxillofacial surgery (both have a dental degree).
The GP would not be able to perform a biopsy if required and certainly should never exclude (and they usually don't) oral malginancy on the basis of their clinical examination becuase they don't have the equipment or the training/knowledge to do so.

[MrXLA]

With regards to ChinaDoll it isn't your fault your ingnorant of medicine/dentsitry, but common sense should tell you that a dentist, a person with a BDS (bachelor of dental surgery degree) whould have 'proper' medical training and therefore be able to give 'proper' medical advice.
I would find it quite scary visiting a dentist, who would be screening me for dento-oral facial conditions, providing a diagnosis and treatment plan, if i was undert the impression as you clearly are, that they have no 'proper' medical training.

[MrXLA]

there are a large number of possible lesions affecting the oral cavity (too numerous too number here)
- however usually a white or red lesion or lump that has not healed for 3 weeks or more usually necessitates further investiagtion, sometimes a biopsy is necessary, sometimes a diagnosis can be made on clinical examination, usually a review is necessary. Try and get her some smoking cessation advice/help

[China Doll]

MrX - Are you perhaps a dentist? A dental consultant? Or is it just that you're highly strung? Let me clear a couple of things up for you since I've obviously caused some offence and that was not my intention.

My advice was based entirly on the need to get justasking's mother somewhere where she can get medical advice. It was not a pop at dentists or their training. The impression that you believe I 'clearly have' is rather you being oversensitive. The only thing I am guilty of is not knowing that a dentist could do a biopsy in which case I bow to your superior knowledge on that. I was thinking that they could be referred straight to a max fac department.

Also I see patients with head and neck cancers on a daily basis, obviously including oral. I would hate for someone to be out there burying their head in the sand because they're scared to seek medical advice from whatever source because there's a possibilty it could be cancer. As you've pointed out, it could a number of things but it is always best to get these checked out just in case and to swallow your fear. So again, my only point was for justasking's mum to get some advice.

So basically you've been condescending towards me because I dared to advocate getting some medical advice without realising that a dentist could do this as well as a max fac department and you somehow interpretted that as me having a pop at the qualifications of a dentist? I'm not sure hwo you reached that conclusion (hence my oversensitive comment) but I'm sorry if offense was caused, it was unintentionally done.

[MrXLA]

Well thankyou for your reply chinadoll, I may or may not be a dentist, in fact a may not be one person at all...
Dentists can do biopsies, however they are typically not done in a dental practice setting.
However if you attend a GP with a condition affecting the oral cavity (other than an obvious infection/systemic disorder with oral signs and symptoms) then the GP is left with a few diificult choices (which is why they prefer oral conditions to be seen by a dentist first)

A GP informed the other day that he was concerned at the gowing number of oral conditions he was being asked to see (due to difficulty in access to dentists) because it put him in rather a difficult position, his word's:
' I do not have the appropriate training to diagnose them, as I feel dealing with everything below the hyoid bone to be more than enough to keep me busy'
'however I have an ethical and moral duty not to turn my patients away'

1) Make a clinical diagnosis there and then (inappropriate and risky)
2) Ref straight to Max Fax, this may seem fine, however if they do so they would probably have to do so on the two week rule, because they will not know what/why they are referring there and that may be creating unecessary worry for the patient
3) Send to a dentist who will then usually:
- review
- ref to Max Fax (if necessary!!!)
- or occasionaly carry out special tests including biopsy
(although as I've said this is rare)

[cybil2403]

My mum has had mouth cancer 3 times, the last being in her jawbone. She was undergoing dental treatment and had a tooth removed. Days later she noticed either tooth or bone pieces coming away, she went back to the dentist who did a full mouth X-ray and they saw a large shadowed area. The dentist then referred her to the Maxifacial department at the hospital for a biopsy, she had an appointment within a couple of weeks.

I would URGE your mum to get herself checked over, even if it's for peace of mind. My mum smoked about 20 a day, never drank. She underwent major surgery but thankfully she is still here and has remained positive.
You don't have to be a smoker to get mouth cancer although it does increase the risks
Check out the website: http://www.rdoc.org.uk/
Best of luck