Oral Cancer Screening in Shelby Township, MI
Know the Mouth Cancer Symptoms Worth Checking. Serving Shelby Township, Macomb, Clinton Township, and Sterling Heights, MI
An oral cancer screening is a 5 minute visual and physical exam of your lips, tongue, cheeks, palate, throat, and neck, looking for sores, patches, and lumps that do not belong. McKinley-Holloway Legacy Dentistry in Shelby Township includes one with every routine exam.
The screening takes about five minutes and is part of your regular checkup, so most patients have already had one without realizing it. If you have noticed a sore that has not healed in two weeks, a patch of color change, or a lump you cannot explain, do not wait for your next cleaning.
Why Choose McKinley-Holloway Legacy Dentistry for Your Oral Cancer Screenings?
Award-Winning Dentist Delivering Exceptional Care
Dr. McKinley-Holloway graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and earned the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry Award for outstanding clinical proficiency. She brings that same skill and attention to every patient who walks through our door for an exam.
We Foster A Calm And Comfortable Environment
We go out of our way to make nervous patients feel at home before exams ever begin. From a warm, welcoming family office environment to a team that listens, the goal is simple: to help you feel at ease from the moment you walk in for an exam with us.
Advanced Imaging, Right Here In Our Office
Anything questionable is photographed with an intraoral camera and dated in your chart so it can be compared at your next visit. Dr. McKinley-Holloway can also examine tissue on site using a Motic advanced microscope, which means fewer trips for you before a decision is made about next steps.
What Is an Oral Cancer Screening?
An oral cancer screening is a 5 minute exam in which your dentist visually inspects and palpates, meaning feels by hand, the soft tissues of your mouth, lips, tongue, throat, and neck. The goal is finding abnormal tissue while it is small and localized.
The exam has two parts. First, a visual pass over every surface: the lips, inside the cheeks, the roof and floor of the mouth, all surfaces of the tongue including underneath, the gums, and the back of the throat including the tonsils and the base of the tongue. Then a physical pass, feeling the jaw, the neck, and under the chin for lumps or hardened areas.
Nothing about it is unpleasant. There is no needle, no radiation, and no preparation. Most patients do not register it as a separate procedure at all.
If something looks questionable, the usual next step is to watch it for two weeks. Most sores in the mouth come from an injury, a burn, or a canker sore and resolve on their own in that window. Anything still there after two weeks gets a closer look.
Who Should Get Screened for Oral Cancer?
Every adult should have an oral cancer screening at routine dental visits. Risk rises with tobacco use, heavy alcohol use, HPV infection, sun exposure to the lips, being over 40, and family history. About 90 percent of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinoma.
Two things have changed about who gets oral cancer. The first is HPV. A growing share of oropharyngeal cancers, meaning cancers of the throat, tonsils, and base of the tongue, are linked to human papillomavirus and occur in patients who have never smoked and rarely drink. That breaks the old assumption that this is a smoker’s disease.
The second is age. Oral cancer is still most common after 40, but cases in younger adults are no longer rare enough to ignore. We screen every adult patient regardless of risk profile, because a screening that takes five minutes does not need to be rationed.
If you use tobacco in any form, including chewing tobacco and vaping, tell us. It changes what we look for and where.
Mouth Cancer Symptoms to Watch For:
- A sore or ulcer that does not heal within two weeks
- White patches or red patches on the gums, tongue, or lining of the mouth
- A lump, thickening, or rough spot in the mouth, on the lips, or in the throat
- A lump in the neck or under the jaw, which can mean enlarged lymph nodes
- Persistent hoarseness or a change in your voice
- Numbness or loss of feeling in the mouth, tongue, or lips
- Difficulty or pain when chewing, swallowing, or moving the jaw or tongue
- Bleeding in the mouth with no clear cause
- A change in how your teeth or dentures fit together
- Persistent ear pain on one side without hearing loss
How Often Should I Get an Oral Cancer Screening?
Most adults should have an oral cancer screening at least once a year. Patients on a 6 month cleaning schedule are screened twice a year automatically, and patients on a 3 month periodontal schedule are screened 4 times a year.
Because the screening is built into our routine exam, the frequency question answers itself: keep your regular checkups and you are screened. Patients on the Perio Plus membership tier come in every three months and are screened at each visit.
The gap to worry about is the patient who has not seen a dentist in five years. If that describes you, the screening alone is a reason to book. See what a first visit back looks like under preventive dentistry.
Meet Dr. McKinley-Holloway
Dr. Brittany McKinley-Holloway is a 2011 University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry graduate and the third generation of her family to practice dentistry in Macomb County.
She is the only dentist in the practice, which is directly relevant to screening. Detecting oral cancer early is mostly about noticing change, and noticing change requires someone who saw your mouth last time and the time before that.
Many patients here have been coming to this office for decades, some since her father, Dr. Ray Nelson McKinley, ran it. He practiced for nearly 48 years and worked until his last day. That continuity is the practice’s actual asset, and on this service it is a clinical advantage rather than a sentimental one.
A Five Minute Exam Worth Booking
Oral cancer screening at McKinley-Holloway Legacy Dentistry is included in every routine exam and documented with intraoral photography so changes can be tracked visit to visit. We are rated 4.9 stars across 433 Google reviews and screen patients from Shelby Township, Macomb, MI, Clinton Township, Sterling Heights, Washington Township, Utica, and Harrison Township.
If you have a sore, patch, or lump that has lasted more than two weeks, call (586) 685-0880 or book your appointment online, and we will get you in ASAP.
Oral Cancer Screening FAQs
Get any mouth cancer symptom checked if it has lasted more than two weeks. The most common are a sore or ulcer that will not heal, red or white patches on the gums or tongue, a lump in the mouth or neck, persistent hoarseness, numbness, and trouble chewing or swallowing. Early oral cancer is usually painless, so do not use pain as your trigger for calling.
No. An oral cancer screening involves looking at the soft tissues of your mouth and feeling your jaw and neck for lumps. There is no needle, no radiation, and no numbing. It takes about five minutes and is included in your routine exam at our Shelby Township office.
About five minutes. It is performed as part of your regular dental checkup rather than as a separate appointment, so for most patients it adds no time to the visit. If you have a specific symptom you want examined, call (586) 685-0880 and we will schedule a focused visit sooner.
We look for sores that have not healed, red or white patches, lumps or thickened areas, and any asymmetry in the tissues of the mouth, throat, and neck. We also feel the jaw, neck, and area under the chin for hard or enlarged lymph nodes. Anything questionable is photographed so it can be compared at your next visit.
Oral cancer found before it spreads is often curable. According to the National Cancer Institute’s SEER program, about 89% of patients whose cancer is still localized survive at least five years, compared with about 70% once it reaches nearby lymph nodes and 36% once it spreads to distant sites. That gap is the entire reason routine screening matters. Early lesions are usually painless, so finding them generally depends on a screening rather than on symptoms.
Yes. A growing share of oral and oropharyngeal cancers are linked to HPV and occur in patients who have never used tobacco and drink little or no alcohol. Sun exposure to the lips and family history are also risk factors. This is why we screen every adult patient rather than only those with traditional risk factors.
There is usually no separate charge. The screening is performed as part of your routine dental exam, so if your insurance covers preventive visits, it is covered. Our Smile+ in-house dental plan includes oral cancer screenings in every tier with no waiting period, starting at $41 a month plus a one-time $79 enrollment fee.
Most mouth sores are harmless and come from an injury, a burn, or a canker sore, and they heal within about two weeks. The one worth getting looked at is the sore still there after two weeks, whether or not it hurts. Call our Shelby Township office at (586) 685-0880 and we will take a look rather than have you wait it out further.
Usually the first step is watching it for two weeks, because most lesions resolve on their own in that window. If it persists, Dr. McKinley-Holloway examines it more closely, including on-site tissue examination using a Motic advanced microscope. A definitive diagnosis requires a biopsy reviewed by a pathologist, and when a lesion warrants one we arrange it and coordinate with an oral surgeon or oncologist.
At least once a year, and twice a year for patients on a standard six month cleaning schedule. Patients on the Perio Plus membership tier who come in every three months are screened four times a year. Keeping your routine checkups is the simplest way to stay screened.