Oral cancer doesn’t arrive with fireworks; it slips in like a shadow, mimicking a pizza burn or a canker sore that “will probably go away.” The key is duration: anything hanging around longer than two weeks deserves interrogation.
The sore that refuses to clock out
Lip, tongue, gum, cheek—pain optional, persistence mandatory.
Color-shift patches
White (leukoplakia) = abnormal growth.
Red (erythroplakia) = higher-grade trouble.
Mixed red-white = biopsy today, not next month.
Lumps, rough spots, or thickening you can feel with your tongue
If it feels like a pebble glued to the floor of your mouth, get it checked.
Numbness/tingling in lip, chin, or tongue
Nerves are complaining about something pressing on them.
Unexplained bleeding or ear pain
Especially when the dentist can’t find a dental culprit.
Trouble chewing, swallowing, or speaking
A change in speech or a feeling that food “sticks” can signal tongue or throat tumors.
Chronic bad breath that mint can’t mask
Ongoing odor despite perfect brushing can mean tissue breakdown.
Triple-threat risk pack: tobacco + alcohol + HPV-16. Add sun-baked lips or a weak immune system and the dice get even colder.
Protective playbook:
See your dentist twice a year—oral cancer screening takes 90 seconds.
Kick tobacco, curb heavy drinking, load up on colorful fruit/veg (antioxidants).
Use SPF lip balm; lips burn too.
Ask about the HPV vaccine if you’re under 45.
Catch it early and five-year survival tops 80–90 %. Ignore the whisper and it becomes a scream. Check your mouth once a month under good light—mirror, fingers, honesty. If it’s still there in fourteen days, don’t Google—call. Your dentist can spot what your eyes can’t, and a 10-minute biopsy can buy you decades of smiles.
