According to Cancer research UK there were around 11,400 new cases of head and neck cancer in the UK in 2014, that’s 31 cases diagnosed every day.
HPV (Human papilloma virus) is the cause of a 15x rise in oral cancer in people under 45 years old. HPV is responsible for 5% of all cancers. It is transmitted thought sexual, saliva and skin to skin contact.
To lower your risk of oral cancer, try to limit the use of tobacco and alcohol (ideally avoid them completely), make sure you have a good balanced diet and good oral hygiene, and lower promiscuous sexual activity since this is the way to contract dangerous strains of HPV. However a quarter of those diagnosed abstain from smoking or alcohol. Dentist are trained to check for signs of oral cancer during your examination, and to make referrals if they suspect a patient may have cancer or a pre-cancerous lesion. The early cancer is spotted the easier to treat and higher the chance of success.
If you find any lumps, bumps or ulcers on the face, neck, mouth which do not heal even with treatment after 2 weeks please see your dentist. It just takes two minutes to help identify abnormalities that may not be visible to the naked eye. The general guidelines is this screening should be annual and will be part of the Bow Lane 8-point oral health check. So please ask your Bow Lane Dentist more about how we screen you for mouth cancer.
