Last Updated on 2nd December 2020
November is Mouth Cancer Action Month and Evesham Dental Health Team are proud to be proactive in Mouth Cancer screening all year round.
The Mouth Cancer Foundation supports people with mouth cancer and raises public and health professionals’ awareness of mouth cancer with the aim of saving lives.
Our Broadway Road dental practice offers a FREE mouth cancer screening appointment to any member of the public, all year round. You do not need to be a patient here – so, get in touch today to book!
At Evesham Dental Health Team we screen every one of our patients for mouth cancer at every dental health review. As well as a conventional mouth cancer screening examination, featuring inspection of the face and neck under direct vision and assessment of risk factors, we also use a VELscope Vx.
Studies have shown that the VELscope can detect cases of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions that might be invisible to the naked eye. For most patients we detect nothing of concern, and our patients are pleased to receive the good news and peace of mind.
Incidences of mouth cancer in the UK
- Last year, 8,337 people in the UK were diagnosed with mouth cancer.
- This means that 23 people in the UK are diagnosed with mouth cancer every day.
- Mouth cancer is the 15th most common cancer in the UK.
- In men, mouth cancer is the 10th most common cancer in the UK, with around 5,454 new cases a year.
- In women, mouth cancer is the 16th most common cancer in the UK, with around 2,666 new cases a year.
- Most mouth cancers occur in the tongue. These make up around one in three cases for men and women.
- Mouth cancer is strongly associated with age. More than three in four (76%) mouth cancers are diagnosed in those over the age of 55.
If in doubt, get checked out. Early detection saves lives, so contact us if you have any concerns or any of the following:
- Ulcers that do not heal within three weeks
- Red and white patches in the mouth
- Unusual lumps or overgrowth of tissue in the mouth
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty in chewing or moving the jaw or tongue
- Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth
- A feeling that something is caught in the throat
- A chronic sore throat or voice change (hoarseness) that persists more than six weeks, particularly smokers over 50 years old and heavy drinkers
- Swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable
- Neck swelling present for more than three weeks
- Unexplained tooth mobility persisting for more than three weeks – see a dentist urgently
- Persistent nasal obstruction, particularly associated with mucus (clear or bloody) discharge causing difficulty breathing through nose
- Unexplained persistent earache
