Oral/pharyngeal or mouth and throat cancer is often not diagnosed in the early stages because symptoms usually do not appear until the cancer is advanced. Part of the reason for that is oral/pharyngeal symptoms can be mistaken for something else, such as toothache.

However, mouth and throat cancer can sometimes be spotted early during a routine exam by a doctor, dentist, or dental hygienist. Your dentists and or doctor may suggest that you look at your mouth in a mirror at least once a month to check for symptoms.  Some of the more common symptoms of mouth and throat cancer are mouth sores that fail to heal, or a pain in the mouth that does not go away.

The people that are at a higher risks for developing mouth and throat cancer are people that use tobacco and alcohol. Most people who have mouth and throat cancer are tobacco users.  People who are infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is also at a higher risk factor, especially in people who do not use tobacco. The number of cases of oral/pharyngeal cancer tied to HPV has risen sharply in the last thirty years.