November marks Mouth Cancer Action Month, and our oral health promotion team is keen to raise awareness of the risk factors associated with mouth cancer, which takes the lives or more people than road traffic accidents.
Julie King, oral health promotion lead, said: "Last year, over 6K people in the UK were diagnosed with mouth cancer which is strongly linked to smoking and alcohol consumption. Sadly numbers have jumped by a third in the last decade and it's one of the few cancers where cases are predicted to increase in the coming years."
"Like other cancers, early detection is essential and can significantly increase the chances of survival. Monitoring, is an important part of this, including having regular dental check-ups during which dentists will carry out an examination to look for the early signs of the disease, including lumps or tenderness in the neck, change of colour on the tongue or any ulcers. "
Danielle Wright, from the Oral Health promotion team, adds: "In addition to raising awareness generally, we also visit residential care homes, training staff on the signs to look out for and offering residents oral health check-ups."
Debby Lamont, Head of Care and Quality at Middleton Hall Retirement Village said "Julie and her team have trained our staff on undertaking oral assessments and associated common mouth problems. The training was specific to meeting the needs of our older residents and as such, has been invaluable. They're also happy to come regularly so we keep up to date with the latest techniques and information. We have also now incorporated the training into our induction programme and educate all new residents."
14 November 2016
'The treatment I have received from all the staff has been excellent and could you extend my thanks to them all. A very thankful and relieved patient'.
Patient, Dermatology Outpatients Department, University Hospital of North Durham