Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

HANDPIECE REPAIRS FROM ONLY £19.50 Contact us today for more information or FREEPOST envelopes www.mcrepairs.co.uk | 01253 404774 | @mcrepairsltd M outh Cancer Action Month, organised by the British Dental Health Foundation, is an an- nual campaign aiming to raise awareness and screening for oral cancer in the UK popula- tion. Sponsored by Denplan and also supported by Dentists’ Provident and the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), The BDHF uses the campaign to call on dentists, doctors and pharmacists to educate mem- bers of the general public about a disease that kills more people in the UK than testicu- lar and cervical cancer com- bined, under the tagline ‘If in doubt, get checked out’. Latest figures show more than 6,5001 new cases a year are diagnosed in the UK, with one person dying every five hours from the disease. As a result, action really must be taken to raise awareness and change these figures. Chief Executive of the British Den- tal Health Foundation, Dr Ni- gel Carter OBE, highlights the importance of early detection in the battle against the dis- ease. Dr Carter said: “If the pro- fession can inform and urge patients that regularly attend- ing check-ups increases the chances of mouth cancer be- ing detected at an early stage, together we can help to raise awareness of this killer dis- ease. “Almost nine in ten peo- ple survive mouth cancer if it is caught early, yet the five year survival rate remains as low as 50 per cent. Encourag- ing patients to perform self- diagnosis such as looking for ulcers that do not heal within three weeks, red or white patches in the mouth and any unusual lumps or swelling can also help towards early detec- tion.” Risks Lifestyle choices heavily in- fluence the risk of develop- ing mouth cancer. Tobacco use, drinking alcohol to ex- cess, poor diet and the human papillomavirus (HPV), often transmitted via oral sex, in- crease the chances of mouth cancer. Dr Carter added: “The scale of increasing mouth cancer rates is very worrying. There is a clear gap in public knowledge about what causes mouth cancer that needs to be plugged. Smoking and drink- ing to excess increase your chances of getting mouth can- cer by 30 times as much, yet so many social smokers often light up while having a drink. “Of greater concern is the rise of the human papillo- mavirus (HPV). It is forecast to overtake smoking as the leading cause of the disease in the next ten years. Poor diet has been linked to half of cases in the UK. All of these factors make early diagnosis so important. If it is caught early, the chances of surviv- ing mouth cancer are 90 per cent. If it is caught late, which unfortunately many cases are, then there is a 50/50 chance of living.” Jabs for the boys In a survey conducted by One- Poll2 , three times as many people said they would sup- port giving the HPV jab to boys than were opposed to it. The poll also showed the public’s lack of knowledge when it comes to the virus, with more than one in five men (21 per cent) under the impression HPV can be transmitted like a common cold. Currently in the UK all girls aged 12-13 are offered the HPV vaccine, given in three injec- tion over the course of a year. Experts have forecast that the human papillomavirus (HPV), often transmitted via oral sex, will overtake to- bacco use as the main risk factor for mouth cancer with- in the next decade. Despite the high profile case involv- ing Michael Douglas, mouth cancer campaigners the British Dental Health Founda- tion remain concerned at the lack of awareness about the virus. Professor Margaret Stanley OBE from the Department of Pathology University of Cam- bridge, who was the keynote speaker at this year’s Mouth Cancer Action Month Parlia- mentary Reception in October, strongly voiced her support for men receiving the HPV vaccine. “The burden of HPV November is…Mouth Cancer Action Month This November healthcare professionals and dental practices all over the country are raising awareness of mouth cancer. Dental Tribune looks at the issues behind the campaign Slides depicting rise of HPV in Oral Cancer rates. Taken from Prof Stanley’s presentation at the launch of Mouth Cancer Action Month, October 2013 ‘It is not fair, ethical or socially responsible to have a public health policy that leaves half of the population vulnerable to infection’ 6 Special Feature United Kingdom Edition November 2013