The Importance of Sunscreen

IT’S SUMMER…and there are many good reasons to use sunscreen on your skin and lips. The BEST reason is that you can stop by our Smile Sarasota office and we will give it to you! FREE! YES! Free sunscreen lotion and lip balm, so come on down and get yours! So…What are some of the reasons everyone should wear sunscreen?

1. The ozone layer is depleting and your body needs shielding from harmful rays.
2. It helps to prevent facial brown spots and skin discolorations.
3. It also helps to reduce the appearance of facial red veins and blotchiness. It slows down the development of wrinkled, premature aging skin.
4. Skin cancer rates are on the rise and sunscreen has been proven to decrease the development of skin cancer.

Lip cancer is the most common malignant lesion of the oral cavity, constituting 25-30% of all oral cavity cancer cases and is the second most common malignancy of the head and neck overall (after cutaneous malignancy). Unlike other sub-sites of the oral cavity, sun exposure is a well established risk factor for development of lip cancer. This helps explain why 90% of lip cancers occur on the lower lip, since it has a higher level of sun exposure compared to the upper lip which is shielded by the nose and is angled slightly downwards. So…PLEASE use sunscreen!