Last week I was cooking macaroni for my daughter I tested a noodle to see if it was done and felt a burning sensation in my mouth. The next day i felt like a hole in the top of my mouth. I dont know if this there prior or if the hot noodle did it but I never got a burn in my mouth that looked like this. I have an appointment with my dentist Friday but havnt gotten any sleep hardly since seeing this. Could this just be a deeper burn or should I be worried waiting until Friday is torture. I am a 28 year old smoker in general good health. Thank you

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/low_boy/th_S6300219.jpg[/img]

you can click the img to see the larger view i couldnt get it to size right in the forum

Watch for the next 2 weeks and see what it does. You can make an appt now with a dentist or an ENT and it will probably take 2 weeks before you can get in and you can always cancel if it resolves itself.

Oh and STOP SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well my appointment is this Friday with my dentist so we will see where it goes. I will probally try to locate an ent as well

Just got a call from my dentist they had a cancellation going in an hour. Hopefully this is nothing

Good luck at the dentist appointment. I would tell you the same thing as David did. Watch it for 2 weeks and if it is still there go to an ENT. I would save time by looking for an ENT and making an appointment for 2 weeks so that way you are prepared to go right in and get checked. If the sore goes away you can always cancel the appointment. Make sure the ENT is familiar with seeing alot of cancer patients so they are experienced in treating them.

Here on OCF, we are patients and caregivers, we dont have medical backgrounds so cant tell you what it is by a picture. We can help you by giving you advice and a shoulder to lean on.


Worrying isnt going to change the results, its not worth getting upset over. Everybody is always nervous and scared of the unknown. Try keeping busy and going about yoru normal life.

Oh yeah.....QUIT SMOKING!!!!! (or at least start cutting back)

Thank you for the support, the dentist told me to watch it for another week and come back next Tuesday, if it is not healed they will do a biopsy. He prescribed me a rinse to do twice a day in the meantime. I already have a panic disorder so this feels like the end of the world for me Also I quit smoking, even if I am lucky enough and this is nothing I do not want to have to go through this again.

How are they going to bio a hole?

I don't know David I am just going by what he told me lol the prescription I got was peridex oral rinse. I was not away they couldnt bio a hole ..I wonder what they will do if it does not heal.

Hey Mike. WTG on the quitting. Keep it up.

Thanks it is my first day so far but I will take it one day at a time. I have a few different ent to call tomorrow. This is hard to get out of my mind

Can't imagine how a hot noodle would do such a thing but I'm glad you got it checked out. Hopefully it will heal up by the time you have to go back to the dentist. Do try not to worry about it, it won't change anything but only cause you more anxiety.

Congrats on giving up smoking, please continue down that path taking it one day at a time, never go back!

That is just when I noticed it.. the noodle came directly from the boiling water but again im not sure. the funny thing is three weeks prior to this I had a cancer screening at my dentist with my 6 month checkup.

Mike, it is not unheard of to have a dentist who does not do a thorough oral cancer screening. Sorry to hear you need to wait for a week.

The dentist will do a biopsy for you? Thats alittle unusual. Most dentists will send you to an oral surgeon or an ENT.

Hope you stay busy so you dont worry about this. The anxiety will not do you any good. It wont change the results. Good work on quitting smoking!!!! Its not easy to do, way to go!!!

Mike - Many dentists don't see a lot of oral cancer. When I first went to my dentist (about a year ago) and asked if he did an oral cancer screening, he said "Yes, with every patient" but I knew from reading OCF info describing what an oral cancer screening should include, that his "oral cancer screening" was NOT the recommended one. I gave him copies of OCF's info which included the Velscope. So recently when I had an appointment coming up I printed out LOTS of stuff from OCF and dropped it off at his office several days before my appt so he would have time to read it. The assistant at my dentist's office informed me that they had just gotten the Velscope. At at my next appointment I did get a complete oral exam following the OCF guidelines! The OCF info also has a special description for dentists and one for patients here: http://oralcancerfoundation.org/dental/index.html
One other thing, as Christine mentioned, usually dentists do refer patients to an Oral surgeon which is what happened in my son's case. The oral surgeon is more likely to have seen and thus be more knowledgeable with oral cancer and know what it looks like. Hope everything goes well for you! Keep us updated.

Thanks for all the replies . I will keep you all filled in on what happens. I am not too confident in my dentist I am hoping to find an ent asap and will work on that tomorrow. On a good note this is day 2 without a smoke. Even if nothing comes of this at least it would be my wakeup to quite smoking

Well I am hoping this is a good sign but we will see. Over the past 3 days the hole has gotten noticeably smaller. Also I am on day number four of no smoking

Great job Mike!!!! Its hard to quit smoking.

Im a former smoker too. When I was diagnosed with oral cancer, I got a little angry one day and threw my cigs out the car window. I was on my way to some knid of test that I didnt want to get done and I was upset. My son was with me and I said to him...thats it...I quit, I will never in my life smoke another cigarette. I NEVER litter so it was completly out of character for me to do that. Its been 3 1/2 yrs and I still have not smoked again.

Its good news that the sore is getting smaller. Hope it completly goes away.

Mike,

Although it is hard to really tell too much from your photo, I think that there is a pretty good chance that what you have is a burn. The fact that it is getting smaller is a very good sign. Congratulations on kicking the habit. I look forward to hearing that the sore is gone.

Anne-Marie,

You are to be commended for getting your dentist to do thorough OC screenings and getting a VelScope. I wish more patients were able to do this.

BTW, it is more common than one might think for a general dentist to do a biopsy. It is not a difficult procedure and can legally be done by any liscensed dentist.

is that a hole? kinda just looks like an open sore!! Hope it's just a bad burn!

Well all I got in today because tomorrow I am leaving to go see family for the holiday. The wound has indeed shrunk..there is still an indent but it is all healed over no longer all raw They want me to still come back next week to keep an eye on it. Well after all this the good thing that came out of it was that I quite smoking it has been a week and counting. Best wishes to all of you thank you for your kind words and support happy holidays!

Hello so I went to the dentist again today.. he said it was healing but should have been healed completely by now. He referred me to an oral surgeon and I have an apt. for tomorrow. He said it doesnt seem like something bad but why would he send me there in the first place if he didnt think so! heres the pics they took over the past few weeks.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/low_boy/scan0005.jpg[/img]

Its not a bad thing to be sent to the oral surgeon. I would think it should ease your mind to get this checked out. If it would be soemthing serious then you will be at the right place to get a biopsy. Then you would know for sure what this was. Best of luck with yoru appointment tomorrow.

Go to the oral surgeon. I have found that sometimes dentists aren't as DIRECT as they should be because they don't want to scare you. He is doing his job by referring you, but in my opinion he is not emphasising strongly enough that it is a GO THERE situation - not a "maybe you should go"...type of thing.

I am definitely NOT saying that what you have is serious. I am however saying that you absolutely must get it checked. That way, you know for sure - no more guessing, and trust me - you'll sleep better when all the "maybe's" are out of the equation!!

Keep us posted.

Donna

Well good news.. the surgeon confirmed it as just a burn. He told me for a roof of the mouth burn it could take a month to heal. And it did not look suspicious to him at all. I dont know why my dentist told me that it shouldnt take more than two weeks but im guessing an oral surgeon must see this type of stuff all the time.well the good thing that came out of this is its been over two weeks since I have smoked a cig.

Congrats.

Glad to hear the good news and that my suspicions were correct.

I hope that you keep away from the cigarettes and that you don't ever have to come back to the forum.

Awesome news, and "Keep the Quit". If you need help use every available method - patch, medication, join an internet support group such as Quitnet, and hang on to each and every day you are smoke free - it does get easier. But no matter what - Not One Puff Ever - N.O.P.E.

Keep a close eye on your mouth - if it does not heal - get back to the oral surgeon. In the meantime, GREAT NEWS!! WHEW!!

Donna

Thank you all for the support, it is nice knowing there are people here to help cope. After this experience I will not smoke any more its a real eye opener. Take care all wish you the best.

Good News on the burn and the smoking. In my experience an oral surgeon does have a little more education and experience than a dentist. Especially a maxillofacial surgeon.

His sign read oral and maxillofacial surgery so I would hope he has more experience. He seemed do disagree with the things my dentist told me like for instance my dentist tole me he shouldnt have still been seeing the hole, but the surgeon said something like that could take a month or more, as long as it is healing. I dont know if I should look for a new dentist or not.

Yes, he has a lot more experience. My thing about doctors and dentists is how I ultimately feel when I am there. If I don't feel good about them I go try someone else. Might take you changing three times but to me I don't settle. This is someone you will see pretty regularly for cleanings and stuff but they should also be checking for oral cancer too.

Some facts for clarification.

An Oral Surgeon and a Maxilofacial Surgeon are the same thing.

Both are dentists.

A Surgeon has continued his dental education past the 4 years that he/she did to become a general dentist. Obviously this time is spent learning in more detail, what they learned in dental school. However, it is all about things related to oral surgery.

A general dentist is allowed by law to provide any treatment that a specialist can provide, but would have less expertise and experience in that area. For example, a general dentist can do root canlas, orhtodontics, periodontal (gum) treatment and do any kind of surgery. They can do biopsies, too. However, as in any profession, specialists have more training and many people feel more comfortable going to a specialist.

Also, a surgeon will probably have been exposed to more patients with oral cancer than a general dentist because patients are referred to them for diagnosis and treatment. This doesn't mean that a general dentist can't find or diagnose oral cancer. Most however, will probably choose not to treat it, though.

Thanks for the info, regardless since the get go I wasnt to fond of my dentist and how he treated the issue I will be looking for a new one. He just wasnt very helpful with the questions I had for him just kind stood silent.