At a regular dental cleaning and filling appt., the hygienist pointed out to the dentist a red spot way back in my mouth. He said it was nothing and being complely uninformed, I forgot about it until six months later when I happened to read a short article about oral cancer and inspected my mouth with a flashlight, and found a BIG tumor. I was initially very angry with the dentist, for all the reasons so well stated by banker -- there was plenty of insurance so it would not have cost him anything to investigate. However, about the time I finished treatment and had decided to just go have a talk with him and suggest some education, he was stricken with a debilitating disease and had to sell his practice. Friends going to the replacement dentist say he ALWAYS checks for oral cancer, so I guess things worked out well. Yes there was negligence on the part of the dentist, but I was also to blame for a little smoking and more drinking over many years. In a perfect world it would have been discovered at Stage I, but I was fortunate enough to have care by people who were experienced at dealing with Stage 4, so it all worked out. I have no complaints.