Help turn the tide

In a Westminster Hall debate on tobacco control strategy both government and opposition health ministers acknowledged the vital role dentists can play in early diagnosis of mouth cancer. Oral cancers currently kill more people in the UK than cervical and testicular cancers combined.

The BDA recently partnered with Cancer Research UK to launch a new toolkit designed to help dental health professionals when identifying and referring possible cases of oral cancer. Dentists and their teams are the only healthcare professionals who frequently see patients who have not yet noticed any symptoms, and so are in an excellent position to catch possible oral health problems early on, massively increasing potential chances of survival.

Mick Armstrong, Chair of the BDA, said:

“The spike in oral cancer cases shows precisely why we need real joined up thinking across our health service. We are seeing a preventable disease on the rise, a killer that has a 90 per cent survival rate – but only if it’s spotted early.