Oral Cancer and Alcohol

When patients come to the offices of Ressler, Hirschl, and Lelchuk, they’re getting top-quality care from dentists who have a close relationship with other hospital staff. This is especially important for patients facing oral cancer, which we provide screenings for. But while we are experienced with caring for the needs of oral cancer patients, we want the public to be better educated about how to avoid this disease, which is why we’re passing along a new study on the relationship between oral cancer and alcohol.

The study by the American Society of Clinical Oncology found that alcohol causes about 5% of cancer cases, including cases of oral cancer. This is different from past studies, which examined alcohol in combination with smoking, a more widely-known risk factor. The study found that people are generally unaware of the carcinogenic danger posed by alcohol and that the type of alcoholic drink consumed does not alter the risk (meaning beer and wine are not less dangerous than liquor). While heavy drinking is riskier, light and moderate drinking were still contributors. Why alcohol would cause oral cancer is still unclear, but the study also found that when people stop alcohol consumption, their chances of developing cancer in the oral cavity or the rest of their digestive tract fall to the levels they were at before they started drinking.

Dr. Allen Ressler, Dr. Andrew Hirschl, and Dr. Ira Lelchuk operate from two locations. To schedule an appointment at the location at Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Suite 1190, Miami Beach, Florida, 33140, call 305-532-1444. To schedule an appointment at Intracoastal Mall, 3909 NE 163^rdSt, Suite 310, North Miami Beach, Florida, 33160, call 305-949-2630. They can also be reached on their website, Miami Dental through a contact form.

Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Combating oral cancer is one of our top priorities at the offices of Drs. Ressler, Hirschl, and Lelchuk. April is oral cancer awareness month, and although our advanced Velscope technology helps us to screen patients at every exam, it is more important than ever for patients to be aware of warning signs of oral pathology and share them with us.

Last year, oral cancers associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) outpaced the number of new oral cancer diagnoses associated with tobacco and alcohol. While this demonstrates the success of anti-smoking campaigns, it also presents new challenges because HPV oral cancers usually occur in the back of the mouth and top of the throat, a region called the oropharynx. This region is harder to examine visually. Furthermore, there is no way of testing for oral HPV itself. There are hundreds of HPV strains, only one of which causes oral cancer, and the epithelial layer of the throat is so creviced that random scrapings are unlikely to catch any infected cells.

Keeping in mind that abstinence from smoking and alcohol does not guarantee a lack of oral cancer, people should learn to recognize pain, swelling, and numbness in their throats, jaws, and ears as reasons to get an examination. The good news is that throat cancer screenings can still be done through tactile screenings, and HPV-associated cancers are much more responsive than tobacco-associated cancers to treatment.


Dr. Allen Ressler, Dr. Andrew Hirschl, and Dr. Ira Lelchuk operate from two locations. To schedule an appointment at the location at Mount Sinai Medical Center, 4300 Alton Road, Suite 1190, Miami Beach, Florida, 33140, call 305-532-1444. To schedule an appointment at Intracoastal Mall, 3909 NE 163^rd St, Suite 310, North Miami Beach, Florida, 33160, call 305-949-2630. They can also be reached on their website, Miami-Dental.com, through a contact form.