What causes oral cancer and how common is it?
Most forms of oral cancer have a multifactorial cause (many contributing factors). Some of these are genetic, environmental, behavioral, systemic or unknown. Specific causes for oral cancer are usually found in combination; the most common is smoking and drinking. Tobacco in any form will raise your cancer risk about four times, and combined with alcohol about ten times the risk. The average incidence of oral cancer in America is about 4-5%, but many people die of other related diseases before the oral cancer is a primary problem. The biggest problem with oral cancer is that it is very debilitating to ones quality of life. We use our mouth 24 hours a day to eat, talk, swallow, chew, breath, kiss, communicate- the list goes on and on. Avoidance and prevention of oral cancer is far preferable to any treatment that can be provided.
