I have a lesion on the inside of my cheek.
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From: northern lights on 3 Oct 2005 21:17 Hey everybody. I am an 18 year old male from California. I have one question only really. About 7 months ago, my dentist found a lesion on the inside of my left cheek. It is about the size of a tiny pea, and has a greyish, sometimes whitish coloring to it. Most of the time it looks as if there is a whitish circle with a greyish tint in the middle. I have been using a beta carotene mouthwash, although I still smoke. I work in a extremely fast paced job, and my smoking habit is one thing I have not been able to kick yet. My dentist didn't say anything about it, just that he would biopsy it the next time. Does anyone here know how long it takes for a lesion like mine to become cancerous? From what I have read it usually takes decades for someone to develop oral cancer, but I would like to kick smoking before I catch that nasty disease. So anyhelp would be great.
From: Steven Bornfeld on 3 Oct 2005 22:36 northern lights wrote: > Hey everybody. I am an 18 year old male from California. I have one > question only really. About 7 months ago, my dentist found a lesion on > the inside of my left cheek. It is about the size of a tiny pea, and > has a greyish, sometimes whitish coloring to it. Most of the time it > looks as if there is a whitish circle with a greyish tint in the > middle. I have been using a beta carotene mouthwash, although I still > smoke. I work in a extremely fast paced job, and my smoking habit is > one thing I have not been able to kick yet. My dentist didn't say > anything about it, just that he would biopsy it the next time. Does > anyone here know how long it takes for a lesion like mine to become > cancerous? From what I have read it usually takes decades for someone > to develop oral cancer, but I would like to kick smoking before I catch > that nasty disease. So anyhelp would be great. No way to tell. Your dentist is in a much better position to say. If there is any suspicion, he should have had it biopsied immediately. Otherwise he's just trying to scare you into stopping smoking. Oral cancer in 18 year olds is not unknown--but I've never seen it myself in 30 years. Steve > -- {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Arial;}} {\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1507;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs20 Remove "nospam" to reply\par }
From: northern lights on 7 Oct 2005 03:20 The only problem is, i'm worried. Yet the lesion itself has not shown any signs of getting larger in the past 7 months, even though I did not quit smoking. It does not hurt, it just is very strange to look at. Also, I am getting my wisdom teeth in, and I could be biting it without knowing it. Do you think it is anything I need to be worried about yet?
From: Joel M. Eichen on 7 Oct 2005 08:02 On 7 Oct 2005 00:20:40 -0700, "northern lights" <fritzdudeman05(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >The only problem is, i'm worried. Yet the lesion itself has not shown >any signs of getting larger in the past 7 months, even though I did not >quit smoking. It does not hurt, it just is very strange to look at. >Also, I am getting my wisdom teeth in, and I could be biting it without >knowing it. >Do you think it is anything I need to be worried about yet? I am guessing here, but I suspect you are talking about Stenson's Duct which everyone in the world has ..... and is completely normal. DISCLAIMER: This is not diagnosis. This is informational only. If you would be so kind as to snap a photo, then I will improve the possibility of what you have/do not have. Joel M. Eichen DDS ** A. Parotid Gland Located on side of face, anterior to mastoid tip and external auditory canal, inferior to zygomatic arch, and superior to the lower border of the angle of the mandible. Anteriorly, it overlaps the masseter muscle. Stenson's duct enters oral cavity through buccal mucosa opposite upper second molar. Parasympathetic secretory afferents to the parotid leave the inferior salivary nucleus with the glossopharyngeal nerve and travel via Jacobson's plexus in the middle ear to synapse in the otic ganglion. Post-synaptic fibers are distributed to the parotid by the auriculotemporal nerve. Facial nerve passes through this gland. B. Submandibular Gland Beneath floor of the mouth, inferior to mylohyoid muscles and superior to digastric muscle. Marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve travels in the fascia on the lateral surface of this gland. Parasympathetic secretory afferents to the submandibular gland arise from the superior salivatory nucleus, and leave the brainstem in the facial nerve. They exit the facial nerve at the geniculate ganglion and travel via the chorda tympani to the lingual nerve. Fibers synapse in the submandibular ganglion, and post-synaptic fibers then enter the gland. The lingual and hypoglossal nerves lie deep to this gland. Wharton's duct enters the floor of the mouth near the lingual frenula. C. Sublingual Glands - located below the mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth, adjacent to mandible and mylohyoid muscle. Ten to twelve small caliber ducts drain the gland, some emptying into the submandibular duct, and others draining directly into the floor of the mouth. D. Minor Salivary Glands - small collections of salivary gland tissues are scattered throughout the oral mucosa, and can also be seen in the pharynx, supraglottis, nose and sinuses.
From: Joel M. Eichen on 7 Oct 2005 08:05
REPLY to Steve Bronfeld ..... Not necessarily. My experience is that half the dentists are asleep during lectures that do not directly involve how to translate something into cash. Sad but true. NEXT TOPIC is my favorite. Biochemical aspects of molecular biology! PS~ Yes I have made these diagnoses, actually a number of times, and yes, some of the patients did not listen and are no longer with us. ** >On Tue, 04 Oct 2005 02:36:59 GMT, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinnospam(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > > >northern lights wrote: >> Hey everybody. I am an 18 year old male from California. I have one >> question only really. About 7 months ago, my dentist found a lesion on >> the inside of my left cheek. It is about the size of a tiny pea, and >> has a greyish, sometimes whitish coloring to it. Most of the time it >> looks as if there is a whitish circle with a greyish tint in the >> middle. I have been using a beta carotene mouthwash, although I still >> smoke. I work in a extremely fast paced job, and my smoking habit is >> one thing I have not been able to kick yet. My dentist didn't say >> anything about it, just that he would biopsy it the next time. Does >> anyone here know how long it takes for a lesion like mine to become >> cancerous? From what I have read it usually takes decades for someone >> to develop oral cancer, but I would like to kick smoking before I catch >> that nasty disease. So anyhelp would be great. > > No way to tell. > Your dentist is in a much better position to say. If there is any >suspicion, he should have had it biopsied immediately. Otherwise he's >just trying to scare you into stopping smoking. > Oral cancer in 18 year olds is not unknown--but I've never seen it >myself in 30 years. > >Steve > >> |