Welcome to OCF!

What you are experiencing could be many things beside cancer. There are all kinds of noncancerous "growths" that it could be. Oral cancer (OC) often does not cause a fever, pain or appear so quickly, so hopefully whatever you have going on is not anything serious. To me (a non-medical professional) the fever and swelling are signs of an infection.

I suggest instead of seeing a dentist, find an ENT who treats oral cancer patients. Most dentists usually focus solely on the teeth, ignoring any other areas. Mouth sores often are not considered a dental problem, they're medical. Only with a biopsy will the ENT know for certain exactly what is going on. They may have a good idea but its really just an educated guess if a biopsy isnt done. Dentists do not usually perform biopsies, usually only an ENT or oral surgeon will do biopsies. This could be a 3 office visit thing as the first one is an exam and checking your insurance coverage. The second visit is the procedure which could be done several ways. At the third (a week later) appointment, its for the diagnosis.

If you normally are used to using a strong mouthwash like listerine quit using it until you get examined. If you use in tobacco (any form, even e-cigs) stop immediately, same goes with drinking. You want to try giving your mouth time to heal without any irritants getting in the way.

Hang in there and keep us posted. Best wishes!!!