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Dentist has me worried... I think it is Jaw/Mouth Cancer

Hi. I am a fairly young mom with a lot of fear going around about my dental issues. First of all, I put off my dentist for almost 6/7 years. I know that sounds horrible, I just had changes of insurance, lots of things going on, and I don't know why, but put dentistry off. Well, recently I went to a new dentist for a check up. All was going well with cleanings, etc... but at the end of the appointment, the dentist says "I have an x-ray that I am going to send to an Oral Surgeon... we see this a lot, it might be such and such, just there is something on here, some swirls and a root that is missing." I was concerned, but at the same time, the dentist didn't act too worried. Well, I had to go back in to the office for some fillings and I told him about my visit-that it wasn't until a month or so. He said "that's good- as long as he didn't say "come in tomorrow" that is probably a good sign." He didn't seem overly concerned. And, the Oral surgeon saw the x-ray and was very friendly and brief- noticed the reabsorbed tooth, and said "There are about 6/7 different things this could be... I would put anything negative at the bottom of my list. Don't worry, etc..." Ok, so I kind of cooled off for a moment... I had to go back to my original dentist for another refile of my tooth as it still did not fit correctly. Now, the dentist(Last Monday) asks about my date of appointment again. I told him and he marks it down in his computer/calendar. He brings up the resorption of the root again on the molar of the jaw. I said is this a cyst? He said it was definitely not, a cyst would be round and dark. My cyst is scattered and radiopaque. I told him I was scared, but he said just wait to the biopsy comes back, etc... I have been a mess since that day. I am going on every oral/neck cancer site and reading the news. I don't think this could be anything good. I am actually making myself physically sick about this. I do not have pain in the area, but notice that I have had a neurological thing from time to time- I do grind my teeth at night, though. I would wake up sometimes with huge gouges in my cheek and tongue, which I forgot to mention- which one time I had tongue numbness, but noticed bites around my tongue.  I am just praying everything is ok, but I really don't know. Another Oral Surgeon looked at this, as I had to move my date up - I called and requested, but they said it could be kept at the end of the month or earlier, whatever I wanted to do. The OS said it "might be an Odontoma" but I think that is just to brush me off, as that would effect a child, not a 30 ish woman. I am thinking they KNOW it is the worst, but are trying to avoid telling me right now. Please someone help me with this. Also, how soon will they give me the biopsy report? I don't want to be scheduled to have a consultation with anyone.. so frightening to hear the news, I mean I know that is what happens. However, if the OS suspects that it could be benign, would he tell my husband following the surgery for peace of mind? Thanks.
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Avatar universal
The thing to keep in my mind about the internet is that people only post until they find out that everything is fine. So because of this there a lot of people talking about cancer and other scarry things. I know when i went through it i NEVER found anything that looked like what i had than was not cancer. As far as your neck pain goes, that can be a symptom of anxiety. I still have neck pains that are slowly resolving from all of my stress. I would strongly suggest seeing you GP about getting you some anti-anxiety meds, not only will it help you in dealing with this, if your neck pain is due to anxiety it will help with that as well. Doctors want to help you and if they think that you are at a high risk of cancer, they want to know as soon as possible so that they can start to treat it. The earlier the better your chances. So if the docs dont seem too rushed about getting you in i would tend to think that you most likely are going to be fine.

I have been on this site looking into my own dental issues and came across some information that made me think about this post. I am not a doctor so i dont know, but root absorbtion can be due to an infection, and that would also affect your jaw bone. For the most part doctors can scare you with what tests they run simply because they are trying to be cautious.

Good luck and if you are really having a lot of trouble look into getting some anti-anxiety meds, they helped me out a lot. I know you probably hear this a lot but honestly more than likely you will be just fine. Just keep telling yourself this.
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Avatar universal
Stop looking up cancer sites. It is not helping. It is just feeding your fear. The chances that it is anything serious are probably slim, and it is probably just some non-health-threatening thing. I know it is hard, but you need to stop feeding your fear and  working yourself into a frenzy.
And doctors do not hide information that they KNOW about a patient. Your fear is making you paranoid. They simply can't tell from what they see, and apparently don't think the chance of cancer is very high.
If I were you, I'd be a lot more concerned about the tooth grinding, as that is very bad for your teeth and jaws. Consider being fitted with a night guard.
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Avatar universal
Thank you very much for the feedback. I am still terrified and praying everything goes ok. The dentist office manager keeps telling me "stop worrying it is nothing-when I call, which is getting on my nerves. How could she possibly know this? I asked her if the dentitst told her this assesment or what. I don't know if it is related to my sleep pattern, as my back feels out of alignment and stress, but now the front of my neck is aching. I hope this isn't related, it feels like a really tender patch below my chin/jaw. I had this feeling before, but it went away. I have been grinding my teeth like crazy, though, perhaps a muscle.

On my mom board that I go to, some of the women suggested if the doctors were very suspicious about this, they would have the biopsy immediately. My original date was at the end of May, and it was up to me if I wanted to move this up or not. Even one lady said I could move because it was so close to Derby day, like a holiday in KY. I moved it to the end of the month as they had listed. Would the OS notice this and demand that it be earlier? I am trying to avoid looking up the pics online, as they look a lot like jaw cancer. I have all of the symptoms, and even strange bone density of my jaw. I am freaking out, but wonder why the OS isn't as worried. Also, since they would see problems all the time, wouldn't they be more interested in getting me in faster? I am clueless. Thanks for your help.
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Avatar universal
I hope this post finds you well and everything turned out ok, however if you are still waiting i wanted to share my story with you as a sort of comfort. My situation was diff. than yours however very scary for my wife and I. I went to the dentist after not going for several years for a weird bump on my gums. The dentist took a picture of it close up and i tell you it scared the hell out of me. It looked just like what you would think a tumor would look like, uneven borders, white and bumpy. The dentist was honest with me and told me that it could be cancer right from the start. They sent me to a specialist at a hospital the next day to have it removed and biopsed. For the next two weeks after that i looked at pics online of things that looked just like what was in my mouth that did indeed turn out to be cancer. As time went on without any calls i also becamed worried that they were putting off letting me know that i had cancer. In the end it turned out to be a fat deposit in a weird area that only happens to seniors, i was 25 at the time, and that i was going to be fine.

I only write this to let you know that no matter how convinced you become that it is cancer or something horrible based on the evidence, it still can turn out to be something very minor. I truely hope that everything works out fine for you and that you can find some way to relax during this period in your life.

Also, i waited over two weeks for my biopsy report to come back in, however i later found out that they had the report back 3 days after the removal and that they waited to tell me until my visit because it was nothing to worry about. If it had been cancer they would have called me in earlier. If you are really worried about this you might try calling them to find out the results sooner. Like i said my story is much diff. than yours, but i do know what the fear is like, if there is anything else i can help with please dont hesitate to ask.

Best Wishes.
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Avatar universal
COMMUNITY LEADER
Asking your surgeon to be honest to you is advised.
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