Hi everyone



Visit the Mouth Cancer Awareness Week (MCAW) web page to learn more about the Week and how you can get involved!

Can we use this week to come out and be more invinvolved? All areas and the Internet are organising various consultation events. Let your comments be known, Good place to start Department of Health 'Have Your Say'

hi my name is trish and i am 28 i have a white patch in my mouth and it is sore and irritating everything i have read is all the symptoms that i have i am now scared i must go and see my doctor but i dont think i can as my daughter is having treatment for brain tumours and i dont think i want to know if i ahve cancer also im to scared and upset to do anytihng about it

Hello Trish,
You must get the White spots checked out, get a bi-opsy done, ASAP....Some cures I know is Essaic Tea, and Garlic eat one in the morning, if you can chew it is like drining the nectar of life.
Raj

Hello Trish

Most white lesions in the mouth are inconsequential and caused by friction or trauma.

Truly white oral lesions may consist of collections of debris (materia alba), or necrotic epithelium (such as after a burn), or fungi - such as candidosis. These can typically be wiped off the mucosa with a gauze.

Other lesions which cannot be wiped off, appear white usually because they are composed of thickened keratin, as caused by cheek-biting, which looks white when wet. The other commonest cause is Lichen Planus.

'A whitish patch or plaque that cannot be characterised clinically or pathologically as any other disease and which is not associated with any physical or chemical causative agent except the use of tobacco' is defined as leukoplakia. Many leukoplakias are uncommon and arise in the absence of any identifiable predisposing factors and most - up to 70% in large series - are benign without any evidence of dysplasia. However, the remaining 10-30% may be, or may become, either dysplastic or invasive carcinomas. Overall the rate of malignant transformation of leukoplakias is of some 3-6% over 10 years.

The nature of white lesions can often only be established after further investigation.

Biopsy is usually indicated, particularly where there is a high risk of malignant transformation, such as in lesions with an admixture with red lesions (speckled leukoplakia or erythroleukoplakia)

Ref: British Dental Journal (2005); 199, 565-572. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4812901:White lesions
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In a nutshell, stop worrying but see your dentist or doctor about it for a definite diagnosis.

Best wishes
Vinod