TOPSHAM — In honor of Oral Cancer Awareness Month, Androscoggin Dental Care will offer free oral cancer screenings Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to a press release about the free screening offer, approximately 37,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer every year in the United States. The disease kills one person every hour of every day, and more than 100 new individuals will be diagnosed with oral cancer each day.

Every adult should be screened, according to the release. With early detection, survival rates are high and the side effects from treatment are at their lowest. Like other cancer detection tests — such as cervical, skin, prostate, colon and breast examinations — oral cancer screenings are an effective means of finding cancer in early and highly curable stages.

Oral cancer can be caused through the use of tobacco and alcohol, as well as through exposure to the human papilloma virus version 16 (HPV16), which is now the leading cause of oral cancers in the U.S. and the vast majority of cervical cancers in women. The quickest growing segment of the oral cancer population are young, healthy non-smokers due to the connection to this virus.

Early indicators of oral cancer include red and/ or white discoloration of the soft tissues of the mouth; any sore which does not heal within 14 days; and hoarseness with lasts for a prolonged period of time.

Advanced indicators include a sensation that something is stuck in your throat; numbness in the oral region; difficulty moving the jaw or tongue; difficulty swallowing; ear pain which occurs on one side only; a sore under a denture that still does not heal after adjustment; and a lump or thickening which develops in the mouth or on the neck.

To schedule a screening appointment, call Androscoggin Dental Care at 729-3911. Androscoggin Dental Care is located at 7 Main St.

For more information about oral cancer, visit www.oralcancer.org.

news@timesrecord.com