Hi Jeff,
and welcome to the forum. Why a dentist? Why not go to an ENT or head & neck surgeon and get a proper diagnosis. You already know you are at a higher risk because of your lifestyle choices and you are in the perfect age group for this disease to appear. Not to scare you but GET the Dx! It may be nothing and there are other things it could be besides cancer. Without a definitive biopsy how will you really know and you must ask what is the accuracy of the brush biopsy test. Pathology reports from a punch or snip type of biopsy are the gold standard. It's too soon to start speculating on your treatment options. It's been often said here: "It ain't cancer until the pathology report says it is".

More information on brush biopsy see: http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/diagnosis/detailed_brush_cytology.htm