General Dentist Misses Oral Cancer in 87-Year Old Patient

Estelle, a lovely woman, came to my practice on the advice of two 90-year old women in her senior club.

Over a year ago she had been experiencing pain in her mouth, which her general dentist diagnosed as an infection.

As she describes in the video below, the dentist sent her on to a periodontist and after realizing her infection wasn’t responding to antibiotics, the periodontist sent her to an oral surgeon. The oral surgeon did a biopsy and, realizing she had oral cancer, sent Estelle to Dana Farber for treatment.

Estelle didn’t drink or smoke and definitely did not have multiple partners (her exact words!), so she definitely was low-risk with regard to oral cancer.

She also had all her teeth, which were in great shape, and perfect bone.

Due to the advanced state of her cancer, Estelle had to have more than half of her maxilla (upper jaw) removed and underwent radiation treatment every day for months.

In the video she describes how oral cancer has affected her life.

Despite her travails, she remains upbeat.

But here’s the deal: Every single dentist in the United States should be performing an oral cancer screening every single time he or she sees a patient for a routine checkup.

And, any type of sore or “infection” that looks even slightly suspicious should be checked — pronto. It’s a shame that a woman as beautiful as Estelle lost half of her upper jaw bone due to her cancer not being caught in time.

Don’t let this happen to you. It’s your right to insist on oral cancer screenings. If your dentist doesn’t do them, find a new dentist.