Again - thank you! This is really insightful and helpful to me.

I just called and made an appointment with the ENT. Unfortunately they aren't able to see me until September 7th, unless there is a cancellation. I am going to keep my appointment with my dentist for Monday - I have no idea what his training and background is with oral cancer but he seems good and thorough and does always do an oral cancer screen at my 6 month cleaning visits.

I'm still concerned that by September 7th, it will have been 7+ weeks since I first noticed the growth / spot. It makes me feel like thats a really long time and if it is something bad, I'm missing the boat on getting rid of it sooner.

I have no idea if another ENT would be able to see me any sooner but if you were me would you look for another and try to get seen more quickly?